Marking the Milestone: the 100,000th GFB packed!

August 26, 2026

During our August Pack Day, the GFB Program recognized the milestone of packing the 100,000th Good Food Box! While there is still much work to be done to eliminate food insecurity, we chose to recognize the community commitment and volunteer contributions that makes the GFB Program possible. The NOWC has administered the GFB Program since 2005, when the program was initially a way to support families of the clientele of the Centre. Our first pack was in September of 2005 – we packed 58 Boxes; in 2026, we pack an average of 650 boxes each month.

HUGE THANK YOU to all the local businesses and suppliers who contributed to our celebration of the 100,000th Good Food Box packed! It was a great treat to recognize the volunteers who power this program: Bennett’s Bakery, RFDA Thunder Bay Regional Food Distribution Association, Home Depot, Rose N Crantz Roasting Co., Westfort Foods, The Vinyl Frontier Canada, and Eat Local Pizza.

The Thunder Bay Good Food Box Program is a volunteer-powered, non-profit, community-based food security program administered by the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre since 2005. It is a fruit and vegetable distribution program that aims to improve access to good food by making quality, fresh produce available at a low cost across our city.

Enjoy some photos from the day below, featuring volunteers and a banana! We have a few memories of share of this pack day, featuring the GOLDEN 100,000th box!

SUPPORTING LOCAL FOOD SECURITY PROGRAMS MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

The demand for fresh and accessible produce continues to rise: it is reported that 22% of households in Thunder Bay and the District are food insecure and not able to access healthy food, along with fresh vegetables rising in cost on average 8% more year to year (from March 2025 to 2026).

To recognize this milestone of volunteer commitment and community collaboration, we are aiming to reach a total of 100 MONTHLY DONORS to help keep the program running. We are grateful for the current 21 members of our BEET-ing Hearts Club – we dream of growing these ranks!

A sustaining donor is a supporter who makes regular, recurring donations to a cause; donations can be made at any frequency but are typically on a monthly basis. Funds from our sustaining donors offer overall support to the Good Food Box Program. Any amount, any time – it all makes a difference! Even $10/month makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE to our program.

Becoming a GFB Sustaining Donor today!

Learn more about the GFB on our website. Questions about the Good Food Box? Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages at @GoodFoodBoxTBay or email us at [email protected]!