Purchasing Priority Indigenous Harvesters

In order to fulfill its purchasing mandate to value social justice and inclusion, the City of Thunder Bay is hoping to expand the amount of food purchased from and dollars spent with Indigenous-led businesses. Expenditures in this area are now being tracked separately and indicate steady growth to date, from $2,200 in 2019 to $9,895 in 2021. Currently, Eat the Fish and regional wild rice harvesters are the main suppliers who meet these criteria.

“In terms of Indigenous food sourcing, buying directly from harvesters remains a major challenge primarily because we are still seeking to make connections in what is still a largely untapped and under-developed market,” says Munshaw.

Purchasing staff continue to reach out across

NWO to try to forge new partnerships. A planned road trip this spring to Dryden and Kenora will hopefully uncover new opportunities. One of the stops on that tour will be AgriTech North, an Indigenous-, disabled-, and LGBTQ-owned social enterprise based in Dryden.

These efforts are aimed at mitigating the long history of colonial interference disrupting traditional Indigenous food supply chains. While there are a variety of efforts in development to assist in addressing food sovereignty and food security in First Nation communities, the proactive purchasing policies of the city could help in the growth of more Indigenous entrepreneurial ventures.