Toronto-based ddxc Indigenous Kitchen and Catering will join a national campaign to help bring healthy meal kits to Indigenous people in need this holiday season.
Christa Bruneau-Guenther, owner and executive chef of Feast Café Bistro in Winnipeg, announced the launch of Indigenous Feast Boxes on November 27. The fundraising campaign, launched through the Indigenous Culinary of Associated Nations (ICAN), aims to support Indigenous chefs and restaurants across Canada and secure healthy meal options to Indigenous families in need as the holiday season quickly approaches.
“The holidays can be hard financially, but they are also a time of warmth and giving,” Bruneau-Guenther said in a press release. “We have set a $60,000 goal to ensure Indigenous families across Canada get a healthy warm meal over the holiday season.”
Chef Joseph Shawana, the visionary behind now-shuttered Ku-kum Kitchen in Midtown, is preparing a box through his catering service, ddxc Indigenous Kitchen and Catering.
Shawana, who is also the board chair at ICAN, joins eight other chefs and restaurants across seven cities in Canada to bring healthy, simple and delicious meals to Indigenous people.
Boxes from Shawana’s front will be distributed locally by the Native Child and Family Services of Toronto to Indigenous people and communities in need.
The Indigenous Feast Box will include partially or fully prepared meal kits including local ingredients with preparation instructions and recipes “detailing the significance of the ingredients chosen that reflect their unique culture and personality,” according to the press release.
The campaign was launched in an effort to support Indigenous tourism and communities that were highly impacted by COVID-19.
“When COVID-19 hit and all our Taste of the Nations events got cancelled, we decided to redirect those efforts by funding $25,000 for the creation and distribution of Indigenous Feast Boxes,” said Shawana.
Shawana also views the Feast Box as a symbolic message of resiliency in the Indigenous community.
“This culinary fundraising campaign is an excellent example of the ingenuity and resiliency of Indigenous people and our continued effort to provide much needed support and relief to Indigenous communities who have been especially affected.”
The campaign is being shared through the online crowdfunding platform GoFundMe and will run until December 18, 2020.
