Regional Food Distribution Association Building Hope!
by Scott A. Sumner
Volker Kromm is the Executive Director of the Regional FoodDistribution Association of Northwestern Ontario or RFDA as they arecommonly known.The RFDA are embarking on an expansion of their facility and programsto meet a ever growing need in NW Ontario
“ There was a group of food banks back in 2003 in Thunder Bay and theydiscovered they were all competing for donors. They felt it might dobetter if they combined their resources and formed an organization thatwould solicit donations together as a group. A building was acquired on McKenzie Street which used to be a community centre. Today Our KidsCount is located there. The building was donated to us by the IndianFriendship Centre and then we gave it to Our Kids Count.”said Volker Kromm.
The RFDA started off with 13 members and the amount of food the wasdistributed was about $26,000. It quickly went from 13 organizationsto 26 organizations and kept growing. The value of the food they areshipping today is around $3.5 million and growing each year
.“ As the need grew we got better at soliciting food from theorganizations as well as Feed Ontario and Food Banks Canada. Wepartnered with many groups and that helped grow the organization.Locally we get food from local growers. We were then able to addressplaces like Sioux Lookout, Dryden and where ever the need was we couldexpand. Our members get an allotment based on the people they serve andwhat is available.”
In 2010 the RFDA moved after sourcing out what buildings wereavailable working with the City of Thunder Bay to acquire the propertyat 570 South Syndicate Ave where they currently operate. At that timethe building was a bingo and previously a grocery store. They put in>about $1.6 million in renovations through NOHFC and Fednor and otherdonations. The building is 15000 square feet, with 9000 being warehouseand the remainder being offices and kitchen. The RFDA have about 12 full time staff.
“ My job is to build relationships to obtain food and funding. We getvery little ongoing funding, a little from the City of Thunder Bay, butit doesn't pay for 12 staff or say the hydro, etc. Most of the moneycomes in from private donations and corporations such as OPG. We havea couple of grant writers on board to help us get funding. Without theongoing donations from local people we could not operate.” notedVolker. “ We are the food bank for food banks and we also provide soupand and sandwiches to the Dew Drop Inn, Shelter House, Salvation Armyand Grace Place. We don't have individuals coming here directly. We dosome home deliveries to people because we know there is a great needfrom the elderly and people who have mobility issues, can't get out ordon't have a vehicle. We get a list that comes to our photocopy dailyof 16 to 30 people who we will deliver a hamper. We need funding to beable to keep this going. There are also issues with insurance and ourvolunteer drivers.”
Bruno Niederer is the Campaign Chair RFDA Capital Campaign
“ We started about 3 years ago to raise $6.9 million for the expansionof the RFDA building. Demand is getting greater, more people need to befed and this expansion is about 5,200 square foot to the existing>building to achieve the vision we have set out. It will include a dedicated hamper room, preparation room, vegetable processing room,wild game kitchen and community kitchen and program room where we canteach people how to handle the food and make nutritious meals,” said Bruno.
“ We will be able to do it remotely to teach food handling toout of town people because there is no need to send food to differentagencies if they don't know what to do. You have to be certified tohandle wild game which will be a first for people with wild game. Wegot 8000 pounds of whitefish in the last few weeks from the Manitobaangler association.This is good healthy protein.”The expansion will also include an outdoor patio with a fire area andartist display. “ The need for food banks is at an all time high and in our community,1 in 5 people are affected by food insecurity. Right now we feed 5,900people per month and there is another 9,000 that need to be fed. Thisprogram will enlarge the facility and help us with teaching peopleabout nutrition. We want to make a dent in the diabetes that is outthere.” said Bruno.Bruno was originally a chef from Switzerland who worked for 28 yearsat the Airlane Hotel.
“ The RFDA is important to me so that is why Itook on the task of raising the money for this expansion. We have a lotof funding to date including:
$500,000 from City of Thunder Bay$500,000 from Paterson Foundation
$500,000 Shaw Family Foundation
$225,000 from Nemont Musslewhite
$200,000 from TBayTel
"We are hoping for some other government agencies as well.”The RFDA campaign goal from the public and businesses etc is $1.5millionThe construction has started and the foundation put in place before theground was frozen.“ We have a campaign team of 12-14 people in different sectors ofbusiness to help us raise $1.5 million. This expansion will help us tofeed thousands more and also become a community food hub for educationand leaning to cook nutritional meals.I believe that we need to invest in people and projects of ourcommunity. This Building Hope Campaign is a huge step forward to helpThunder Bay and area battle food insecurity. We hope by the end of theyear the building will be complete and we have two years for thecapital campaign.” noted Bruno.
You can donate at online atwww.foodbanksnorthwest.ca
cheque or cash at 570 Syndicate Ave S
or
EFT transfer to banking@rfda.ca
