Lena Dedyukina
Master’s Student
Étudiante à la maîtrise
Lena Dedyukina (she/her) is MA student in the Department of Geography, Environment, and Geomatics under the supervision of Dr. Sonia Wesche.
I grew up in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the northeast part of Russia. I belong to Yakut (Sakha) ethnicity, and following my husband, I had a chance to visit and live in different parts of the world such as France, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia. I have three children, two of whom are also university students. I studied alongside them at the University of Ottawa, completing an undergraduate degree with a Major in Sociology and a Minor in Indigenous Studies. My research interests are focused on food security in Arctic regions. Currently, I am working with the hamlet of Paulatuk in the Northwest Territories on the evaluation of the Nutrition North cooking circle in close collaboration with community researchers.
Email / Courriel : ldedy044[at]uottawa.ca
Research Project:
Community food security and wellbeing: Evaluation of the Nutrition North Canada cooking circle program in Paulatuk, NWT
Minimal research exists on the role of local food programs, such as cooking circles, in supporting food security and overall wellbeing in Canadian Arctic communities. While the literature on community cooking programs tends to be limited to urban centres, these programs show many positive benefits, such as supporting food security and nutrition education regarding healthy eating, cooking, and shopping, and providing space for social interaction and contribution to the mental wellbeing of participants. Concurrently, Indigenous community cooking programs often incorporate cultural elements and traditional food practices.
This research investigates the cooking circle program in the Inuvialuit (Inuit) hamlet of Paulatuk, NWT, with an application of process and outcome evaluation through COVID-adapted CBPR, including hiring a regional Food Security Coordinator and ongoing virtual collaboration with community researchers. Methods include document analysis as a thorough examination of available reports from 2013 to 2020, conversational method with the cooking circle facilitator in the form of the oral storytelling tradition, and 12-15 in-depth semi-structured interviews with cooking circle participants and community/regional organization representatives. This research will provide insight into the role of sustainable local-scale initiatives in supporting food security, overall wellbeing, and possible integration of country food in program activities in remote, Arctic communities.