Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre

What Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre does

Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre is a non-profit charitable organization (Registration 810143925 RR0001) founded in 2019 and headquartered at 655 Maattaq Crescent in Iqaluit, Nunavut. It operates the daily Community Meal program (free, Monday-Friday), the pay-what-you-can Piruqtuviniit Food Box (weekly produce boxes at $50-$100), the Inuit Women's Circle (cultural skills programming), and the Qinnirvik Country Food Store (sliding-scale retail for traditional Inuit foods such as char, caribou, and clams), which opened in February 2025. The organization serves the approximately 8,000 residents of Iqaluit in a region where food costs run 2-3x the Canadian national average and where over 75% of Nunavut Inuit aged 15+ reported household food insecurity in 2021.

The organization is funded through a diversified mix of foundation grants, government funding, individual donations, and program revenue. Disclosed grant support includes a $500,000 USD Citi Foundation Global Innovation Challenge award (September 2023) and $235,000 CAD over two years from CanNor (February 2024), plus funding from the Government of Canada (Community Services Recovery Fund), the Government of Nunavut's Department of Culture and Heritage, and the Canadian Tilling Foundation. Approximately 20 staff and a broader volunteer base support operations that delivered over 90,000 meals in 2024-2025, a 30% year-over-year increase, with 750+ program participants and volunteers engaged. The Co-Executive Directors Joseph Murdoch-Flowers and Francine Doucet lead the organization under a Board of Directors, with governance embedded in the national Community Food Centres Canada network.

The country food store represents a strategic extension into subsidized retail, with supply sourced from hunters across Nunavut's three regions via a partnership with Project Nunavut. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations are built on a community-led go-to-market motion combining word-of-mouth referrals, Facebook and Instagram presence, email newsletters, and earned media, supplemented by Keela-based online forms for donations and food box orders.

Name

Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre

Legal name

Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre

Website

https://qajuqturvik.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre is a non-profit in Iqaluit, Nunavut providing free daily meals, pay-what-you-can produce boxes, cultural programming, and a country food store to food-insecure residents of the city's roughly 8,000 people.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Food Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Farm-to-Consumer Produce Boxes / CSA Delivery (AFAIANAC), Fresh Food Subscription/CSA & Produce Box Retail (CRAHAHAG), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

Keywords

• Community food services
• Food security programs
• Food sovereignty advocacy
• Traditional country food retail
• Community meal programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Iqaluit

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: Major grants from foundations such as Citi Foundation's Global Innovation Challenge ($500,000 USD) and CanNor ($235,000) to fund specific programs and the Qinnirvik Country Food Store.
2. Government Funding: Funding from Government of Canada (Community Services Recovery Fund), Government of Nunavut's Department of Culture and Heritage, and Canadian Tilling Foundation to support operations and programming.
3. Individual Donations: Donations from individuals and community supporters. All donations above $20 are eligible for charitable receipts. The organization accepts EMT, cheques, and cash donations.
4. Program Revenue: Revenue from food box sales (pay-what-you-can, $50-100) and ticketed events like QCFC Presents! (pay-what-you-can, historically ~$60/person).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre is a non-profit charitable organization in Iqaluit, Nunavut that runs free daily community meals, a pay-what-you-can weekly produce box program (Piruqtuviniit Food Boxes), a cultural peer-support program for Inuit women (Inuit Women's Circle), and the Qinnirvik Country Food Store that retails traditional Inuit country food on a sliding scale. The centre is part of the Community Food Centres Canada network and addresses food insecurity and food sovereignty in a city where food costs are 2–3x the national average.

Product overview

Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre operates a multi-program food security and sovereignty model in Iqaluit, Nunavut. The organization provides free daily community meals (90,000+ annually), pay-what-you-can produce boxes (Piruqtuviniit Food Box), Inuit Women's Circle programming, and the Qinnirvik Country Food Store for traditional country food access. The Qinnirvik store, opened in February 2025, sources from local hunters via Project Nunavut partnerships. Fundraising events under QCFC Presents! feature local chefs. All programs operate on sliding-scale or free models to address Nunavut's highest-in-Canada food insecurity rates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Qinnirvik Country Food Store: A country food and bulk store operating on a sliding scale pay model that provides traditional Inuit country food to the Iqaluit community. Qinnirvik means 'a place of cache' in Inuktitut. The store opened in February 2025.

Products and services

• Daily Community Meal Free daily hot meal program serving an average of 363 meals per day (over 90,000 meals in 2024–2025) Monday to Friday from 11:30am–1pm, with both dine-in and take-out options. Menus are designed to be nutritious, filling, and delicious, typically featuring two hot meals daily (one for dine-in guests and one with bannock for take-out). Open to anyone who walks in, with no eligibility verification.
• Piruqtuviniit Food Box

Quantifiable outcome

• 90,000+ meals served in 2024-2025, up from 70,000 the previous year (30% increase)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Project NunavutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCritical partner connecting Qajuqturvik with hunters across Nunavut to source traditional country food. Has built a network of hunters across the territory's three regions through their Hunter's Harvest program. This partnership is foundational to the entire country food store operation.
• Community Food Centres CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization that pioneered the Community Food Centre model. Qajuqturvik's vision is shaped by this model and the organization belongs to this national network.
• Nunavut Black History SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for collaborative events and programming at the Food Centre.
• City of IqaluitminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partner for community events and collaborations.
• Alianait Arts FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts festival partner for community events and cultural programming collaborations.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Daily Bread Food Bank: Large Toronto food bank serving food-insecure residents through food distribution and member agencies. Comparable mission of addressing food insecurity through direct food access, with similar reliance on donations, grants, and volunteer networks.
• The Stop Community Food Centre: One of the founding Community Food Centres in Toronto offering free meals, food banks, gardening, and advocacy programs under the same CFC model Qajuqturvik operates. Operates as a multi-program food access and community-building organization serving a low-income urban population.
• Project Nunavut: Quasi-partner operating the Hunter's Harvest network connecting hunters across Nunavut's three regions to source traditional country food. Mission-aligned and operationally intertwined with Qajuqturvik's Qinnirvik Country Food Store supply chain.
• FoodShare Toronto: Toronto-based non-profit focused on food access, including produce box programs similar to Qajuqturvik's Piruqtuviniit Food Box, school food programs, and community kitchens. Operates the same pay-what-you-can and subsidized-produce model on a larger urban scale.
• The Mustard Seed: Calgary-based non-profit providing free meals, food hampers, and shelter services. Operates a daily community meal program directly analogous to Qajuqturvik's free hot meal service, with a similar faith-rooted, dignity-focused service model.
• Santropol Roulant: Montreal-based intergenerational community food organization offering community meals, food delivery, and cultural programming. Comparable integrated approach combining food access with community-building programming under a CFC-affiliated model.

Broad incumbents

• Community Food Centres Canada: National backbone organization that pioneered the Community Food Centre model and operates the network Qajuqturvik belongs to. Directly comparable mission (food access, social programming, advocacy) and provides Qajuqturvik with national funding and programming support.
• Food Banks Canada: National umbrella organization coordinating the Canadian food bank network. Provides the macro frame for the food assistance ecosystem Qajuqturvik operates within, though its food bank model differs from Qajuqturvik's meal-centric approach.

Regional players

• Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI): The representative Inuit organization for Nunavut that attended Qajuqturvik's Qinnirvik store opening. Works on Inuit rights, food sovereignty, and traditional food access — directly comparable territorial mandate and Inuit-focused constituency.
• Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada: National Inuit women's organization whose mission and constituency directly overlap with Qajuqturvik's Inuit Women's Circle program. Operates programs supporting Inuit women on health, cultural preservation, and social issues across regions including Nunavut.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Qajuqturvik
• Instagraminstagram.com/qajuqturvik
• Xx.com/Qajuqturvik

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre