Leave the extra clothes, take the bounty of charity-bound food

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 itemsso 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 havecarry-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," saidAlexanderLambrecht, 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-considerable500 pounds, give or take.

Lambrechtsays he hopes other individuals and organizations will follow the federation'sleadand use their luggage to help foster food security.