Manitoba Government Supports Harvest Manitoba’s First Steps Infant Care Program

Press Release

March 19, 2026

The Manitoba government is investing $300,000 through the Mino’Ayaawag Ikwewag: All Women Doing Well strategy to increase access to infant nutrition and care items for families, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine, minister responsible for women and gender equity, announced today.

“Ensuring every child can access healthy food while they grow is critical to long-term health and development,” said Fontaine. “This funding will help families, particularly Indigenous families, access the nutrition and support they need in these important first years of life, so babies can grow up strong, nurtured and resilient.”

The funding will support Harvest Manitoba’s First Steps Infant Care program, which provides infants under the age of two with diapers, baby cereal, baby food and infant formula at no cost to families, the minister noted. The program reaches up to 2,000 babies monthly and supports 130 community agencies provincewide, including northern and remote communities through partnerships with Nutrition North Canada, the minister said, adding the funding will ensure the sustainability of the program for families experiencing food insecurity.

“Those first months and years of a child’s life are so important, yet for many families the cost of basic baby items can create financial strain and enormous stress,” said Vince Barletta, president and CEO, Harvest Manitoba. “This support from the Manitoba government will help ensure that babies have access to the nutrition and care they need, while easing a significant burden for parents during a time that should be focused on bonding with their child. We’re deeply grateful for this investment in Manitoba’s youngest and in the families who are doing their best to give them a strong start.”

The funding advances Pillar Four of the Mino’Ayaawag Ikwewag: All Women Doing Well strategy, which focuses on food security. Indigenous families often face additional barriers to accessing healthy food, including poverty, transportation challenges and the lasting impacts of colonial policies that disrupted traditional food systems and community supports. By strengthening access to infant care items at no cost to families, this investment will help to reduce structural barriers that disproportionately affect Indigenous families, the minister noted.

Mino’Ayaawag Ikwewag: All Women Doing Well is Manitoba’s whole-of-government strategy aimed at the empowerment, safety and protection of Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people. For more information or to read the strategy, visit www.gov.mb.ca/wage/minoayaawag-ikwewag.html.

The investment also supports the goals of Pathways Forward: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, which prioritizes groups at vulnerable transition points, including babies and children zero to five years old, beginning in the prenatal period. To read the full strategy, visit www.gov.mb.ca/povertyreduction/pubs/poverty-reduction-strategy-2026.pdf.

For more information about Harvest Manitoba’s First Steps Infant Care program, visit www.harvestmanitoba.ca/first-steps/.

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For more information:

• Public information, contact Manitoba Government Inquiry: mgi@gov.mb.ca or 1-866-626-4862 or 204-945-3744.
• Media requests for general information, contact Communications and Engagement: newsroom@gov.mb.ca.
• Media requests for ministerial comment, contact Cabinet Communications: cabcom@manitoba.ca.

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