Province pitches in $2 million for food warehouse expansion in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Sitting 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."