THUNDER BAY — The call is out, asking the public to help restock food shelves across the region.
The Regional Food Distribution Association's Stronger Together comes at a critical time, said April Mercier, RFDA office manager.
“It’s this time of year that we really start to see the drop-off in the donations and in what’s available in the warehouse,” said Mercier.
“Without a lot of the programs and schools running, it’s where we start to notice the shortfall.”
From August 1 to September 12, Stronger Together is a six-week campaign encouraging residents, schools, and businesses to donate food, volunteer their time, or contribute money to fight hunger in Northwestern Ontario.
“Stronger Together 2.0, we did it back in 2023,” said April Mercier, office manager at the RFDA. “It was a great success, and we needed something to come back and focus on the operations and stocking the shelves.”
Summer is when donations often drop, leaving the RFDA with fewer resources to distribute food to over 80 organizations and First Nations communities.
While one food drive can make a difference, collective action is what gives the campaign its strength, Mercier said.
“One business doing a food drive is great and it absolutely makes an impact,” she explained. “But when we have a bunch of businesses working together... it makes a really big difference," she said.
“There’s something meaningful behind coming together and knowing that your donation is going to be part of a much bigger campaign.”
“We kicked it off and we had 14 come to join us right away,” said Mercier. “Before we even launched, we had the United Way willing to come on and help us.”
The United Way of Thunder Bay is matching all donations up to $10,000.
Participants can also get involved in other ways.
“Individuals, families, schools, businesses, they can all get involved,” she said. “They can host a food drive, collect non-perishable foods or come in and challenge themselves on how much time they would like to donate by volunteering here at the RFDA.”
The campaign runs until September 12, and all the information is available on the website.
