Dignified Food Access Guide
Roots Community Food Centre
Designed for staff and volunteers working with social service organizations who support people accessing emergency food.
Culture Kitchen
Roots Community Food Centre
A place for newcomer women to share their cooking with the local community and learn the skills and knowledge they need to start a food business from home.
Link2Feed
Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA)
New software connects partner food banks to streamline services.
Community Food Market & Greens Prescription Program
NorWest Community Health Centres, Roots Community Food Centre
A year-round fresh produce market offering wholesale prices to food insecure households.
What Do The 2022 Food Access Indicators Tell Us?
Food Insecurity is a Result of Inequity and Poverty Food insecurity is primarily the result of inequity. This is most evident in the financial constraints too many people experience. Unprecedented inflation and rising costs of food, housing, transportation, etc.;...What is a Living Wage?
A living wage is the hourly wage a worker needs to earn to cover their basic expenses and participate in their community. The living wage is not the same as the provincially mandated minimum wage which is $15.50 per hour for adults. The living wage for the North is...What Is Market Basket Measure (MBM)?
The Market Basket Measure (MBM) of low income develops thresholds of poverty based upon the cost of a basket of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and other items for individuals and families representing a modest, basic standard of living. A family with...Measuring Poverty
Presently, the Canadian government does not have a standard definition of poverty, instead offering a variety of measures based on income-related terms including the low-income measure, the market basket measure, and the living wage.2022 Food Access References
Government of Canada. (2022). Household Food Insecurity in Canada. Retrieved from:...
Student Nutrition Programs
Administered through the Red Cross since 1997, Student Nutrition Programs offer food programs in 86 of the schools in the District of Thunder Bay and 52 in the Thunder Bay area. The large majority of the programs serve breakfast or a morning snack. The food is...
Gleaning
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit and Food Action Network have been running a Gleaning Program since 2000. The program provides free bus transportation to area farms to pick produce for people who have difficulty accessing food. Number of poultry abattoirs (2015)0...
Good Food Box
The Thunder Bay Good Food Box is a monthly fruit and vegetable distribution program that aims to increase access to fresh and affordable produce in neighbourhoods, housing buildings, organizations, and participating First Nations year-round. The non-profit, volunteer...
Mobile Market
Fresh food is not always easy to find in urban areas or at an affordable price. Since 2013, Roots to Harvest has run a mobile food market to give people living on a low income the ability to purchase high quality, locally grown, fresh produce. Located at the Water...Nutritious Food Basket
Each year the Thunder Bay District Health Unit conducts the Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) survey, as mandated by the Ontario Public Health Standards. The survey is done in 6 grocery stores (5 in the city and one in the District) to price 67 food items to determine the...Facts About Food Insecurity in Thunder Bay
1 in 7 households in the Thunder Bay District are food insecure and not able to access healthy food. on average, 8,392 households received social assistance each month in Thunder Bay in 2020. 52% of Canadian households that are food insecure have income from...
What is Median After-Tax Income?
Median after-tax income means that you take the middle income and look at what that income would be after-tax. For instance, if you looked at incomes (before tax) ranging from $20,000, $35,000, $40,000, $45,000 and $50,000, the median would be $40,000. The median...
What is Low Income Measure?
Presently, the Canadian government does not have an official definition of poverty, instead offering a variety of measures based on income-related terms. The Low Income Measure (LIM) is one such indicator of low income, and is used by Thunder Bay’s Poverty Reduction...
2015 Food Access References
Health Canada, Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Health Products and Food Branch. (2004). Income-Related Household Food Security in Canada.Tarasuk, V., Mitchell, A., & Dachner, N. (2013). Household Food Insecurity in Canada 2011.Schwartz-Mendez, C.,...
Thunder Bay Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)
CMA refers to the municipalities of Thunder Bay, Oliver Paipoonge, Neebing, Conmee, O’Connor, Shuniah, Gillies, and Fort William First Nation.What Do the 2015 Food Access Indicators Tell Us?
The root cause of food insecurity is poverty. This means that if poverty indicators rise, food access concerns become more acute. According to the Thunder Bay Poverty Strategy (2014), specific groups in our community experience poverty at a greater rate than others....Why So Many People Can’t Afford Healthy Food
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like living on social assistance? In 2022 a family of four living on Ontario Works had a fixed monthly income of $2,780. According to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, the cost of a Nutritious Food Basket for a family of four is $1,046. Let’s talk about what that math looks like.
