THUNDER BAY — The Regional Food Distribution Association of Northwestern Ontario is implementing significant operational changes to help cope with the impact of the COVID-19 emergency.
In an announcement Tuesday, RFDA executive director Volker Kromm said the organization is converting to what he called a "Food Bank Central" model, in light of the anticipated closure of area food banks.
The Thunder Bay Food Bank on Miles Street shut down on Monday, citing a lack of volunteers, most of whom are elderly.
In an interview, Kromm said "When something as large as the Thunder Bay Food Bank closes, and I suspect others will be following, how do we service those people who can't afford to go shopping?".
He believes reorganizing the RFDA warehouse to assemble hampers for distribution is one solution.
Volunteers will be tasked with putting together standard hampers that can be handed out safely, providing a five-day food supply for recipients.
Kromm called on local food banks to send representatives to a Tuesday afternoon meeting to discusss the details.
"It may come down to handing out hampers here at the RFDA, or from the back of our trucks, or at safe locations throughout Thunder Bay," he said in a note to city food bank members.
Kromm anticipates increased demand for food as a result of school closures and people being laid off from their jobs.
"It's really tricky, because our food banks operate on different days, and we've lost a lot of volunteers. We're looking at getting new volunteers, who will require training...This is quite a logistical exercise," he said. "We're going to have to draw on all our logistics to make this work over the next couple of weeks."
In the meantime, Kromm is contacting food network partners across Canada to find out what might be available in terms of additional food supplies.
"There is food available in warehouses, and we'll be focusing a lot on the non-perishables. Some of the vegetables we normally look for, it's getting tight out there," he said.
Kromm hopes to access donations or other funding sources to help maintain adequate supplies in the coming weeks.
