THUNDER BAY — The Regional Food Distribution Association has launched a $1.5 million capital fundraising campaign to help complete a 5,200-square foot addition.
The total cost for the project is $6.9 million and the majority of that funding is in place, with $500,000 each from the City of Thunder Bay and the Paterson Foundation. Newmont Corporation has also donated $225,000 and Tbaytel has committed $200,000.
The expansion of the Syndicate Avenue building will include a dedicated hamper preparation room, a vegetable processing room, wild game kitchen, community teaching kitchen and program spaces as well as a community meeting and ceremonial room, technology and tools for web learning and an outdoor patio with a sacred fire area.
RFDA executive director Volker Kromm said this project, once completed, will allow the organization to move forward with its mandate to give people a hand up.
“This will allow us to take that next big step,” said Kromm, adding kitchen training has been limited in the building’s current space.
The lack of space has also affected the RFDA’s ability to do both food hampers and food distribution, which includes shipping food to the organization’s 37 partner organizations and 47 First Nations communities throughout Northwestern Ontario.
“This expansion is the first step. We’ll be able to do so much more food-related and also non-food related, meaning education and training,” said Kromm.
Planning for the project began three years ago, said Bruno Niederer, campaign chair. He noted they needed the big donations from the city and other corporate sponsors before the construction could begin.
Now it’s time to reach out to the community to help raise the remaining $1.5 million and Niederer said they have two years to raise that money. “I’m very confident we are able to do that before two years,” he said.
The RFDA currently feeds about 5,900 people per month throughout the region and Niederer said the goal is to be able to feed up to 9,000 more individuals.
“We feed a lot of people and we need to feed more,” he said.
Donations can be made through the RFDA website.