Celebrity chef and Nova Scotia First Nation team up to create meal kits with venison
A First Nation in Nova Scotia has collaborated with a celebrity chef to create meal kits for band members that feature meat from nuisance deer shot by crossbow hunters.
Gerald Gloade, consultation manager with the Millbrook First Nation, near Truro, N.S., says the kits include three recipes and a spice rub created by Ray Bear, a celebrated Cree chef who is well known on the East Coast.
The 60 kits are composed of vegetables, flour, potatoes, butter, herbs and enough vacuum-sealed venison to make a stew with dumplings, a meat pie, and a deer meat roast -- and each meal can feed four to six people.
"We recognize that food security really impacts everybody," Gloade said in an interview from the Millbrook Community Hall, about 90 kilometres north of Halifax. "We wanted something that could benefit everybody."
On Friday, the kits were packed for distribution in green bags that feature a logo -- designed by Gloade -- that says "Kwe Fresh." Kwe is the Mi'kmaq word for hello.
Fed up with nuisance white-tailed deer raiding gardens and colliding with vehicles, the Town of Truro hired four crossbow hunters last year to kill deer spotted inside town limits, where the use of firearms is banned.
In co-operation with the town, the Millbrook band implemented its own cull last year, which resulted in the killing of 12 deer around the First Nation territory. The frozen carcasses were given away for food.
After the first giveaway, Gloade says the band received calls from residents asking how to cook the meat and how to dial down its gamey taste. He says his wife came up with the meal kit idea, which was quickly embraced by the band council.
"Everybody totally loved the idea," he said, adding that First Nations hunters culled 24 nuisance deer this year.
In Truro, hunters brought in 34 deer, the meat of which was delivered to Feed Nova Scotia, the non-profit organization that distributes food to 140 food banks, shelters, soup kitchens and meal programs across the province.
Last year, town officials said they had spent years studying what to do about the large population of deer that keeps roaming through the town of 12,000. They produced public education campaigns to stop residents from handing out backyard goodies to the animals, but the deer kept coming.
The town has since set up designated hunting locations -- each baited with apples -- that are at least 800 metres from any schools or built-up areas. Each area has been set up so that any crossbow projectiles, known as bolts, will end up in the ground or nearby hay bales if they miss their target.
The two areas used by the First Nations hunters is also too close to a built-up area to use firearms.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2023.
For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liam Payne, former One Direction member, dies at 31 in Argentina hotel fall
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, local officials said.
Harris' interview with Fox News is marked by testy exchanges over immigration and more
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris engaged in a combative first interview with Fox News on Wednesday, sparring on immigration policy and shifting policy positions while asserting that if elected, she would not represent a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency.
W5 INVESTIGATES Ontario woman alleges sexual assault by junior hockey players; details what happened when she called police
The Ontario Provincial Police has acknowledged that one of its employees did not follow the organization's policy when an alleged victim of sexual assault called a local detachment earlier this year to report an incident involving eight former junior hockey players.
Investigators name person of interest in disappearance of Vancouver Island woman
Mounties have released startling new details about their investigation into the disappearance of Amber Manthorne, who was reported missing on Vancouver Island more than two years ago, and is believed to have met with foul play.
JD Vance says 'no,' Trump did not lose the 2020 U.S. election
U.S. vice-presidential candidate JD Vance said "no," former U.S. president Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election "by the words" the Ohio Republican would use, when asked Wednesday what message it sends to independent voters that he has not directly answered that question.
'Vindictive and malicious': B.C. court weighs in on long-running neighbour dispute
A B.C. judge has issued a decision in a years-long dispute between neighbours that began with a noise complaint over barking dogs, crowing roosters and quacking ducks – awarding $15,000 in damages to the plaintiffs in the case.
'The risk is real': Book on Manitoba mushrooms suspected to be written by AI
A Manitoba professor is warning the public after a book on regional mushrooms that he suspects is AI-generated was delisted from Amazon.
Group of Liberal MPs plan to verbally ask Trudeau to step down next week
Liberal MPs who have spent the last 10 days organizing to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step aside from the leadership of the Liberal party plan to plead their case directly to him at next Wednesday's caucus.
Canada Revenue Agency fires 330 employees over CERB claims during pandemic
The Canada Revenue Agency says it has terminated 330 employees for inappropriately receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit during the pandemic, giving its final update on an internal review.