Connecting Food and
Community across
Northwestern Ontario
We work alongside communities in Northwestern Ontario to grow just, sustainable food systems that nourish people, the land, and each other.
About Us
Learn about our work
We support community-led solutions that connect people to their food systems, from seed to table to compost. Rooted in care for the land and our relationships, we work alongside communities to build food sovereignty, strengthen local capacity, and grow a more equitable and resilient future.
Projects & Networks
Tbayinseason
Your seasonal guide to local food, farms, and flavours in Thunder Bay. Connect with fresh, local food all year long.
Food Systems Report Card
Wondering how our region feeds itself? The Report Card offers a snapshot of local food system strengths, gaps, and trends.
Emergency Food Plan
The Emergency Food Plan is a coordinated strategy to ensure dignified, community-led food access during times of crisis.
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About Us
Our History
Our story began in 1996 and has evolved through decades of community-driven work – starting with the original Food Action Network, growing into the Thunder Bay + Area Food Strategy (TBAFS), and now continuing as the Food Action Network of Northwestern Ontario (FAN-NWO). Through each phase, our commitment has remained the same: to connect food and community, and build a more just, resilient, and sustainable food system for all communities in Northwestern Ontario.
7 Pillars of a Healthy, Sustainable Food System
Food Access
Create a food system based on the principles that food is more than a commodity—that it is a human right—and in which all community members have regular access to adequate, affordable, nutritious, safe and culturally appropriate food in a way that maintains dignity.
Food Production
Protect and encourage growth in farm-scale production so that a greater proportion of food is grown, raised, prepared, processed, and purchased closer to home in ways that are ecologically reciprocal.
Food Infrastructure
Support the creation of local and regional food supply chains that links production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management in ways that sustain the local economy, minimize environmental impact and improve people’s access to healthy food.
Food Procurement
Forest & Freshwater Food
School Food Environments
Improve the eating habits, food skills and food literacy of children and youth in Northwestern Ontario through supportive healthy school food environments.
Urban Agriculture
Increase food production in the urban landscape and support the participation of citizens in urban agriculture activities.
Land Acknowledgment
The Food Action Network of Northwestern Ontario believes that equitable and sustainable food futures begin by supporting Indigenous food sovereignty in all its forms. We honour our responsibilities to this place and all its relations, including acknowledging the ongoing presence and leadership of Fort William First Nation, our hosts. We also acknowledge our responsibilities under the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850 and offer deep respect and gratitude to the Elders – past, present, and future – who hold the knowledge, stories, and traditions that guide this work forward.
Primary Funders
