CBC Thunder Bay’s Sounds of the Season fundraiser officially took off Friday as aircraft donated by four companies in northwestern Ontario were packed full of food and flown to eight northern First Nations.
The initiative was carried out with the help of a number of sponsors, including the Thunder Bay International Airport, Wasaya Airways, North Star Air, Perimeter Aviation and KBM Resources.
“This is the culmination of a lot of work by dozens of people in Thunder Bay and across northwestern Ontario,” said Michael Dick, the executive producer of CBC Thunder Bay. “I’m proud of this community and the efforts made to help feed those in some of our most northern communities at this time of year.”
The planes unload food in Eabametoong (Fort Hope), Neskantaga (Lansdowne House), Sandy Lake, Sachigo Lake, North Caribou Lake (Weagamow or Round Lake), Marten Falls (Ogoki), Nibinamik (Summer Beaver) and Kasabonika Lake. The communities are hundreds of kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., and are not connected to Ontario’s all-season highway system.
The remoteness of the communities means it’s more expensive to transport even basic goods that far north; consequently, food, including staples like fruit, vegetables and fresh milk, can be hard to come by for families.
A two-litre container of milk can run as high as $10, Marten Falls Chief Bruce Achneepineskum told CBC Thunder Bay’s Superior Morning on Friday. “It’s very costly if you start to add up the price-per-pound for every item,” he continued. “Also, each of the stores has to carry a profit margin to be sustainable.”
The Sounds of the Season initiative is expected to provide food—ranging from canned goods and other pantry items to fresh produce—to more than 8,000 people, many of whom are children.
“Most likely it’s going to mean relief for the people, not having to worry about food for about a month,” Achneepineskum said. “The communities need foods that are fresh, and we’re always looking at a way to provide that for the community; it’s difficult.”
Many groceries, including fresh produce, are much more expensive in the remote north, than in other parts of Ontario. (CBC)
Some of the donated food came from the Southwestern Ontario Gleaners, an organization that gathers from farmers produce that isn’t the right size or shape for commercial sale. As well, donations of food and money were collected from people, businesses and organizations through the Thunder Bay Regional Food Distribution Association, the Sounds of the Season sponsors and CBC Thunder Bay.
North Star Air was the first airline to touch down, when its Pilatus PC-12 arrived in Eabametoong Friday morning, delivering about 1,800 kilograms of food, including turkeys.
Perimeter Aviation’s first stop on Friday was North Caribou Lake, where the Dash 8-300 plane unloaded the community’s share of food before taking off for Sachigo Lake, where it successfully delivered the rest of its cargo.
In total, the Perimeter aircraft was carrying over 4,200 kilograms of food. Pauline Greene, a councillor in Sachigo Lake said the donations will go a long way in helping her community of about 500 people.
Wasaya Airways made the trip from Thunder Bay to Sandy Lake via Sioux Lookout on Friday. When the food arrived, one of the community’s employees told CBC News the fresh vegetables included are a necessary supplement to the wild game caught by hunters in the community.
“The food that comes in, when it’s given to the people, they’re very grateful for that, and it actually does supplement the food that we get from the land here,” Monias Fiddler said. “I know there’s still hunters that bring in wild game, and they distribute it to their family members and people who need food.”
In Nibinamik, community officials told CBC News the food donated to the First Nation will be used for a Christmas Day feast. KBM Resource Group’s Cessna 206 made the roughly 500 kilometre trek north from Thunder Bay.
Arrived in #Nibinamik & unloading the food. It will be used as part of the community feast on Christmas Day #cbcSOTSont pic.twitter.com/QLbqEr8MxH
Sounds of the Season also raised $50,000 in cash donations.
The festivities on Friday also featured a live broadcast of Superior Morning from 6 – 8:30 a.m., from the airport in Thunder Bay. Up North will also broadcast live from the airport from 5–6 p.m.
CBC journalists have been in the air and on the ground, following the food shipments as they reach their destinations.
The broadcast of Superior Morning featured live music from Thunder Bay musician Jean-Paul De Roover.
Staff from CBC Thunder Bay are also at the Thunder Bay airport giving away free holiday ornaments, while supplies last.
Parking at the Thunder Bay International Airport is also free Friday for people who come to support Sounds of the Season.
A number of sponsors and partners came together for CBC Thunder Bay’s 2017 Sounds of the Season initiative. (Christina Jung / CBC)