How food security partners in Thunder Bay, Ont., are addressing rising demands
CBC
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More than one million Ontarians used a food bank in the last year, resulting in a record-breaking 8.7 million visits, according to Feed Ontario’s annual Hunger Report. This marks nine consecutive years of rising demand.
“If we don't start to do something that begins to address those root causes, this is never going to change,” said April Mercier, office manager at the Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA).
“It's going to take a long time and we're still going to have to continue to get food out there to meet the emergency needs, but we have to start getting to the root causes.”
About 19.5 per cent of households in the Thunder Bay district are food insecure, according to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU). Locally, a family of four spends more than $1,200 a month on basic food items.
The RFDA acts as ‘a food bank for food banks,’ providing food to 37 partner organizations and 47 First Nations across the region.
It’s currently raising funds for its $6.9-million Building Hope capital campaign to support its new training kitchen, gathering hall, and an expansion of its hamper room.
“This has been in the making for a number of years and I'm hoping that we can reach the finish line before the end of the year. We're very close,” Mercier said.
“It's really important for us to continue to exist and make sure our operations are very strong because we have other organizations reliant on us.”
After receiving $852,500 from several donors on Tuesday, the RFDA has $350,000 left to raise.
“I'm sure we're going to get there because Thunder Bay has been good to us,” said Bruno Niederer, chair of the capital campaign.
The expansion has allowed the RFDA to broaden its focus beyond food distribution to also teach people how to prepare healthy meals on a budget.
“Not only do we need to feed these people, we have to educate them. We have to teach them how to handle the food, how to cook the food,” Niederer said.
About 14 per cent of people in communities served by the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) in northwestern Ontario have diabetes, compared to 9.7 per cent in Ontario overall.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.