THUNDER BAY — Eighteen organizations have qualified for support from the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board's food security fund this year.
TBDSSAB on Tuesday announced food security grants totalling nearly $780,000.
That's a significant increase from the approximately $470,000 distributed last year.
The food security fund is a local initiative under the provincially-funded Homelessness Prevention Program.
TBDSSAB CAO Bill Bradica said "With the increased need in the past two years resulting from income insecurity and rising food costs, we are grateful for the opportunity to support our communities by allocating more funding to food security."
Board chair Lucy Kloosterhuis added that the local program is "a perfect example of how we can adapt provincial funding to address the needs of our communities."
Recipients this year include:
Urban Abbey | $91,000 |
Our Kids Count | $89,000 |
RFDA | $88,000 |
Shelter House | $81,900 |
Evergreen A United Neighbourhood | $75,000 |
Rural Cupboard Food Bank | $66,000 |
Matawa First Nations Management | $50,050 |
Salvation Army | $45,960 |
Elevate NWO | $38,000 |
NWO Women's Centre | $31,017 |
Roots to Harvest | $21,945 |
Dew Drop Inn | $19,637 |
Elizabeth Fry Society | $19,470 |
Marjorie House | $15,561 |
John Howard Society | $15,000 |
Marathon Food Bank | $13,000 |
Geraldton Family Resource Centre | $11,500 |
PACE | $7,000 |
Linda Bruins, executive director at Evergreen A United Neighbourhood, said the organization buys and cooks food in bulk, allowing it to feed hundreds of clients weekly.
At Our Kids Count, a family recipient said "The Good Lunch Kit and the Good Food Box Program has made it so that I don't have to choose between paying my bills and feeding my child. It has meant that he has snacks for his lunch and better options for his meal during the day."
The parent added "When we saw peaches this month he actually cried because he was so excited. That's a treat we don't often get."