Serving up traditional food

At the six schools in the Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council Education Authority (KTCEA), students can get breakfast, lunch, and snacks prepared fresh every day.  The food services manager, Clifford Gladue, works hard to offer tasty and nutritious food that connects students to their Cree culture and traditional food system.

Rising to the challenge

In 2018, Clifford learned about the Alberta First Nations Food Sovereignty Declaration.  He decided to apply the recommendations in KTCEA and increase access to traditional foods. He began working with the federal and provincial government to serve traditional meats (like moose, elk, and bison) harvested by community members on Treaty 8 Territory.

The program started by serving up wild game along with whole grains, veggies, and fruits.  At first it was offered monthly and with increasing demand, KTCEA now serves traditional meat to students every Thursday. Families can opt-in to the wild game program by signing a consent form for students to participate. Most parents and caregivers want their kids to try wild game, learn about traditional cooking methods, and other food literacy skills.

Involving the community

The KTCEA formed an Elders’ advisory council for food services, with members from each of the five communities. The Elders identify local foods in their communities (like berries and fish) to add more traditional items to the program. The Elders also create monthly menus and help in the school kitchens.

Local hunters supply the meat for the program. They follow food safety standards and harvest the meat within 72 hours. Clifford is trained to inspect the meat—when it arrives at the KTCEA central warehouse, he makes sure it’s fresh and processed safely, then delivered to schools two days before it’s served. Each school has a food permit to store, cook, and serve wild game.

Reclaiming traditions

Beyond including wild game on the menu, students at KTCEA learn about traditional food through a land-based learning program. KTCEA runs monthly camps where students learn traditional skills (like skinning, processing, and drying meat). They go on nature walks to learn about the plants and medicines that come from the land. 

For Clifford, the biggest success has been showing his daughter that serving traditional meals and wild game at school is possible. He wants her to experience traditional ways that he did not get to as a child. Clifford takes pride in seeing students’ surprise and pleasure when moose meat is on the menu. Some students are happy to see the same wild game at school that they have at home, and some are trying it for the first time.

Looking forward

Clifford credits the success of the program to the time he spent building relationships with Elders, tribal council, KTCEA leaders, government officials and community members. He explains they’re doing it in a good way, by working together to harvest, store, cook, and serve traditional food at school.

KTCEA’s traditional meal program is continuing to grow. With guidance from the Elders, a local dietitian, and health inspectors, the education authority is creating food guidelines for their schools. As for Clifford, he’d like to see wild meat on the menu 2-3 times per week and plans to add other cultural plants, berries, fruits, and vegetables. His next project is to build a greenhouse to grow traditional foods at the schools.

Feeling inspired?

For more information and tips to take action, go to:

• Focus on food literacy
• Embrace nature
• Put nutrition policy in place