Thunder Bay organizations that feed the hungry preparing for higher food prices

Organizations that feed the hungry in Thunder Bay say they're optimistic they can weather the challenges brought on by the increasing fuel prices and potential food shortages. 

But, they say, it will be a challenge. 

Gas across Canada was selling for around two dollars per litre on Monday — it has averaged around $1.45 in Thunder Bay for the past year — and higher transportation costs stand to drive up grocery prices.

Dew Drop Inn executive director Michael Quibell said he's expecting to see even more hungry people turning up for daily meals as a result.

But Quibell feels confident he could accommodate them.

"Our numbers have escalated over the years, and we kind of met those challenges, and we're running very efficiently and effectively now," Quibell said. "So definitely, we could accommodate higher numbers."

Fundraisers planned

The Dew Drop Inn receives large amounts of food from the Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA), including food from an organization called Second Harvest, which collects donations of stale-dated food from local grocery stores. 

As long as those systems remain robust, he said, it would take a significant catastrophe for the Inn to get to a place where it was unable to meet the demand for meals — though there are some foods that could run short. 

"If there was a lunch meat shortage or something like that, that could definitely hurt us," Quibell said. "That's something that we …can't stock up on and kind of rely on getting weekly or bi-weekly just to keep it fresh."

The Dew Drop Inn has a number of fundraisers planned for the year, including an online auction in April, weekly barbecues in the summer, and a take-home dinner with the United Way.

One of the Dew Drop Inn's major suppliers said high transportation costs could lead to changes in the kinds of foods it supplies to food banks and feeding programs — or to the amount of food it supplies. 

Currently, the RFDA ships fresh fruits and vegetables in from southern Ontario around once per month.

"That's going to be problematic, because I know we're going to be seeing a huge increases in costs," said executive director Volker Kromm. "That's somewhere between $4,500, $5,500 per load. Now, if you imagine the fuel prices doubling, what does that do to our costs?"

Kromm had been hoping to increase the veggie shipments to the RFDA, but he's now contemplating the possibility of scaling back slightly instead, he said.

But that would be a blow to the organization's pledge to make its food hampers healthier, he added. 

"The sad part is yes, we could go for certain dry goods [and] bulk foods that are cheaper to buy," he said, "but they're not, as I say, the healthiest. … So we may have to try to find subsidies for some of the fruits and vegetables, and the cereals that we committed to."

The RFDA may look to the member food banks that it supplies to help contribute to the costs, Kromm said. 

Meanwhile, Kromm said, he's had a meeting with staff about trying to find efficiencies in their systems in order to save money, and he's looking for new funding to help offset the added costs.

Maintaining values in the face of increased costs

Local service groups such as the Rotary Clubs have been asking how they can help, he said. 

"We may have to have a fundraiser that says, 'Feed the fuel costs,'" he said. "They're not very exciting, but they are critical to our operation."

Like the RFDA, Roots to Harvest, which is transitioning to become a community food centre, does not want to compromise on its values in order to deal with increased costs, said executive director Erin Beagle.

In their case, that means maintaining an open door to all who choose to use their services without trying to restrict people's options based on scarcity or perceived need. 

"I want everybody who, you know, is a senior or elder … to come to our meals if they want to," she said. "And if there are too many people, then my job is to have more meals."

Roots to Harvest offers Sunday seniors and elders meals in partnership with the Dew Drop Inn. It also offers monthly food boxes for refugees and newcomers and weekly community food markets featuring produce at subsidized or wholesale prices.

Like Quibell, Beagle said she is optimistic her organization can weather the storm of higher food prices, in her case because it has already survived the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"If the pandemic has shown me anything it's that when there is a national, a global need, that there are resources for that," she said. "Money flowed really quickly during the pandemic."

However, she said, the organization may have to be more selective about the foods it purchases to stretch its dollars as far as possible.

Currently, for example, Roots to Harvest sells a broad range of fruits and vegetables at its markets, including bananas, berries and lettuce, she said. 

"We might have to be more resourceful on how we use them or what we're using. And, you know, buy cabbage instead of romaine … We might have to get used to eating other things sometimes."