Latest news with #RFDA
CBC
25-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Province pitches in $2 million for food warehouse expansion in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Sat inside the wooden shell of the expanded warehouse, Volker Kromm points to where a living plant wall will be. "There will be a lot of knowledge sharing here and where we're sitting right now actually, there's gonna be a ceremonial circle," he said. "A much better, much improved space that really reflects the vibrancy and the nature of northwestern Ontario." The warehouse expansion project at the Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA) in Thunder Bay, Ont., has been a long time coming. The $6.9 million-project was announced in January, and will see a new 5,200 square-foot addition to the facility on Syndicate Avenue. The organization provides food to 37 partner organizations and 47 First Nations across the region. The new space will allow for more food storage, job training, and food education programming in a community kitchen. On Wednesday, the provincial government announced $2 million for the expansion through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund. George Pirie, Minister of Northern Economic Development and Growth, was joined by Kevin Holland, MPP of Thunder Bay—Atikokan as well as Thunder Bay's mayor Ken Boshcoff to announce the funding. "There's more families that need help than ever before, and having these facilities built — and having the government support the needs of citizens — certainly helps to fill that gap," said Pirie. "These types of facilities are critically important to ensure that we continue to build healthy communities." A family of four in the Thunder Bay district spends more than $1,200 a month on basic food items, according to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. Meanwhile, demands for food banks and meal programs keep going up. A much better, much improved space that really reflects the vibrancy and the nature of northwestern Ontario. - Volker Kromm, executive director of the Regional Food Distribution Association "The need is growing," Kromm said. "What's happening politically, we are bracing ourselves, tying up our belts and saying, 'All right, prepare for the worst.'" Teaching people about how to prepare healthy food is a key priority of the warehouse expansion project, he said. "There will be so many schools through here coming from right across the region," Kromm said. Our goal is to be able to have education go right across northwestern Ontario all the way to Hudson's Bay." 'Everybody needs help' Even with the funding boost from the province, the RFDA still needs to raise $1.5 million for the project. Bruno Niederer, chair of the RFDA's capital fundraising campaign, said it's been hard seeking support when community members are contending with the rising cost of living. "There is a lot of need out in the community. We are not just alone; everybody has a project. Everybody needs help," Niederer said. "People are worried, OK, with the tariffs and what's going on today in the world. It's not like it used to be." While Thunder Bay is a generous community, he said, organizations are still competing for fundraising dollars in order to meet their goals. Addressing the crowd in the warehouse while construction continued outside, Pirie shared the story of how his mother experienced poverty during the Great Depression. He described how she lived in an abandoned bunkhouse insulated with moss, with bare floors, no running water and little heat. "I asked my mother, 'What was it like? How did they survive?' And her answer was because that whole community worked together, helped each other," Pirie said. "When they had extra food, they shared it, and that's how we survived. And in fact, that's what this facility represents — people working together to help those in need throughout the community." Meal prepping with locally-grown foods Although it may be ambitious, Kromm said the hope is to complete construction by the end of August and hold a grand opening ceremony in the fall. In the meantime, "we're going to be more and more dependent on volunteers because we really want to move into healthier foods," he said. That's where the education piece comes in, he said. For example, people in northern communities may be unfamiliar with ingredients such as lentils, chickpeas and kale, but he wants the RFDA to help teach them about the benefits of making meals from bulk foods. "I think we need to go back a couple of steps, grow our own food, raise [our] own protein, and that has to be brought into the classrooms, the universities and high schools," Kromm said. "That'll also bode well with the local farmers and local production, so it's a big move to change what's been happening, reversing the tide."
CBC
08-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Members of Thunder Bay, Ont.'s food scene rally to save college's culinary program from suspension
Social Sharing More than 1,900 people have signed an online petition in hopes of sparing the culinary management program at Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ont., from being suspended. The college announced the suspension of the program — along with 10 others — in late March. The reason behind the decision is declining domestic enrolment and caps on international study permits, which are negatively impacting the school's bottom line, the college said. "It was disappointing and pretty shocking to know we're going to potentially lose that valuable resource in the community," said Bianca Garofalo, a former instructor of the culinary management program. The two-year hospitality program provides students with theoretical knowledge, hands-on learning at the on-campus dining facility, and a co-op work placement in the community. Graduates receive an Ontario College Diploma. Students already enrolled in the college's suspended programs will be able to complete their studies, but new intakes are not being accepted this fall. Garofalo co-owns three prominent restaurants in town: Bight Restaurant and Bar, El Tres, and Giorg Cucina e Barra. Herself and others in the food industry are concerned about how the program's suspension will impact their staffing. "There won't be as many people looking for employment in that sector specifically, and people who do will need hands-on training to a level that I think is going to be a big strain on the restaurants," she said. Meanwhile, community partners — such as the Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA) — are left wondering what their relationship with the college will look like going forward. It was disappointing and pretty shocking to know that we're going to potentially lose that valuable resource in the community. "We just formed a good partnership with the college … to promote the production cooking class," said Tanner Harris, the RFDA's food service manager and a graduate of the program. "With the food they were able to prepare coming back to the RFDA, it's going to be a huge gap we need to fill." CBC News has reached out to Confederation College about the petition to save the culinary management program and has not yet received a response. Impact on staffing in multiple sectors The RFDA has been working on getting students in elementary and high school interested in the food industry by helping out with meal preparations, said Harris. The organization has benefited from use of the college's kitchen, since the one at its warehouse is much smaller. "We're trying to help them, college's trying to help us; it's really full circle," said Harris. WATCH | Cooking meets community with new Confederation College, RFDA partnership Cooking meets community with new Confederation College, RFDA partnership 1 year ago Duration 2:30 While the RFDA's upcoming expansion includes a new community teaching kitchen, Harris said it may be harder to draw students in if they lack post-secondary opportunities in the culinary industry. "For some students, they see this as a path forward for them in terms of a post-secondary education, and without this program, whether they can afford to leave Thunder Bay and go to southern Ontario or not, it might change their plans completely," Garofalo added. "A lot of them might not actually pursue this career, and if they do and leave the community, there's always a risk that they don't return." Beyond restaurants, Harris, who also has a background in health care, said he's also concerned about recruiting qualified cooks in health-care settings. "We're dealing with people that are the most vulnerable population in health care, but also with the RFDA, [there is] a lot of food insecurity in our communities in this region," he said. "I think more knowledge about food is better, and we just need to try and get this program continuing, so that we can continue education." A program suspension does not mean it's been axed entirely. In theory, the college could revive the program by opening up intakes again. Garofalo said she's hoping to participate in a roundtable discussion with representatives of the college and other stakeholders to discuss their concerns. "[There are] so many different areas where there is food production as part of that, and I think that those areas are also in jeopardy," she said. "Beyond the food scene, the ecosystem is much larger than that."
