Last Updated: 2010-01-09 11:24:18

Programs and Projects

Thunder Bay Good Food Box

The Good Food Box is a non-profit program for families and individuals who want to purchase quality, fresh, local produce at a lower price than shopping at grocery stores. Family sized food boxes are $20, while individual boxes are $12. Participants pay for the Good Food Box on the first Thursday of each month at a neighbourhood host site. The boxes are dropped off at the host site on the second last Thursday of each month. For more information about the program or host site locations please call (807) 345-7819, or email goodfoodbox@tbaytel.net.

Buying a Good Fod Box gives you a low cost way to get fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to your neighbourhood or building. Produce is ordered from a local grocery store, and includes seasonal locally grown fruit and veggies. It is also a great way to get connected and involved in your community. Those interested in volunteering with the program are encouraged to contact the GFB co-ordinator at (807) 345-7819. Volunteers help sort and pack produce, coordinate host sites, help deliver to neighbourhood sites and contribute recipes and cooking tips to the newsletter. We rely on public funding and donations to support the program. Those who would like to make a donation to the program are welcome to do so. For more information on donations please visit Donate.

You may also consider purchasing our premium locally grown food box, available monthly, July through October. The Premium Locally Grown Good Food Box is a fundraising initiative that supports the main Good Food Box program. Our local Box is a bag overflowing with locally grown produce and other products, such as honey, cheese, smoked fish and flour. Premium Good Food Boxes can be purchased for $50. Payments must be made by the second last Monday of each month. Food boxes must be picked up on the second last Thursday of the month at the Labour Centre between 2:30 and 5:00 p.m.

Thunder Bay Women's Court Watch Program

Thunder Bay Women's Court Watch Program is a joint intiative between Northwestern Ontario Women's Centre and Faye Peterson Transition House, launched in 2007. Court Watch programs are a form of community oversight where trained volunteers systematically monitor the treatment of criminal court cases related to woman abuse. Quantitative and qualitative data is used to assess the consistency and adequacy of sentencing, provision of safety for women, adherence to domestic violence policy and attitudes of court personnel, among other concerns. The data is collated and published annually in order to provide the public and professionals with a snapshot of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system's response to woman abuse. Faye Peterson Transition House, with support from Northwestern Ontario Women's Centre funded the program for 2008/09, since we were unable to secure funding from outside sources. Our report, and volunteer application forms are available on the Faye Peterson website: www.fayepeterson.org

Northwestern Ontario Women's Action Group (NOWAG)

NOWAG met as a group for three years, but is currently inactive. Unfortunately, changes to the funding mandate of Status of Women Canada have restricted our ability to bring this group together. NOWAG is a coalition for women in northwestern Ontario who are interested in equality seeking political action and strategy. Women who join the coalition work together to define the issues, decide on actions and carry out plans. The group also ensures that the concerns of women in the North are represented when working with other Provincial and Federal equality seeking women's groups. NOWAG is a lobbying group that approaches municipal, provincial and federal levels of government with the concerns facing Northern women.

Our mandate: NOWAG is a diverse group of individual women and women's organizations coming together to work towards positive social change through joint political action. We focus on the elimination of systemic forms of violence and oppression affecting women. We prioritize anti-racism, anti-oppression work due to the overt and systemic racism that women of colour, and specifically Indigenous women in Northwestern Ontario continue to experience. We believe that this priority must be central to our work in order to build strong and inclusive coalitions in the North.

For more information, please contact the NWO Women's Centre: nwcentre@tbaytel.net