Leave the extra clothes, take the bounty of charity-bound food
Federation of Labour packs as much food as it can on trip to Iqaluit
The Northern Territories Federation of Labour got creative this week when it came to fighting food insecurity in Nunavut.
Staff with the federation who flew from Yellowknife to Iqaluit for meetings each packed light when it came to personal items so that their 140-pound-per-person baggage limit could be used to pack as much food as possible.
The food was then donated to Iqaluit's Niqinik Nuatsivik Food Bank.
"Because we were only here for a couple of days and we pay quite a bit of money to get up here and we only have carry-on baggage, enough clothes for a couple of days, it's a waste to allow two bags at 70 pounds, a total of 140 pounds per person, to go to waste," said Alexander Lambrecht, the president of the federation.
"So someone had the idea, 'Why not do a food donation to the food bank?'"
While initially hoping to transport 800 pounds of food, the organization ultimately brought a still-considerable 500 pounds, give or take.
Lambrecht says he hopes other individuals and organizations will follow the federation's lead and use their luggage to help foster food security.