United Way of Thunder Bay’s Novemburger DOUBLED numbers in 2024!

Thursday, December 5, Thunder Bay, ON – The United Way of Thunder Bay has wrapped up a deliciously successful 2024 Novemburger campaign with record-smashing results, making the sixth year of this unique fundraiser the largest and most impactful yet.

 

Throughout the month of November, restaurants and food lovers united to celebrate burgers for a cause, resulting in 44,695 burgers sold to support our community. With $2 from each burger benefiting United Way of Thunder Bay, this year’s campaign raised over $130,000 to fund local food programs and initiatives that provide nutritious meals and assistance to vulnerable children, youth, families and seniors.

 

“I’m a little speechless about the scale of this year’s Novemburger,” says local realtor and Novemburger Chef de Mission, Erika Mikkola. “Every year we see this campaign grow and evolve, but this year completely blew it out of the water. A campaign of this size wouldn’t be possible without our participating restaurants, ambassadors, and sponsors, including our generous presenting sponsor, TBay Modular Floors. Their support made this the biggest and best Novemburger to date! And of course, we couldn’t accomplish this without support from Novemburger’s biggest fans – the community! We can’t wait for next year!”

This year’s Novemburger campaign featured 41 eateries, each crafting a unique burger creation to sell throughout the month. At the close of the campaign, United Way of Thunder Bay presents special awards to the top performing restaurants, rewarding their creativity, tastiness, and overall popularity.

 

The most coveted award is Top Novemburger of the Year. A panel of ten ambassadors were asked to sample Platinum Novemburgers and rank them on presentation, taste, originality, and overall execution. After tallying the scores, Red Lion Smokehouse came out on top, making their Smoke Show burger the Top Novemburger of 2024!

 

“We’ve been a part of Novemburger since the very first year of the campaign, and it’s always such a great experience,” says Red Lion Smokehouse owner, John Murray. “It takes a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it knowing that we’re giving back to the community. Thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed our burger, and to the ambassadors for voting for us! And of course, it was an honour participating alongside 40 of the best eateries in Thunder Bay!”

The title of Most Novemburgers Sold was awarded to Outlaws Burgers & Fries who sold a total of 6,692 burgers, DOUBLING the previous year’s record of 3,305.

 

Finally, throughout the month, fans were able to vote for their favourite burger, with the top three receiving the People’s Choice award. The 2024 People’s Choice Novemburger award recipients:

 

 

United Way of Thunder Bay also partnered with Sleeping Giant Brewing Co. to create Novembrewger – a non-alcoholic root beer to be paired with Novemburgers. In total, 7,179 cans were packaged over the course of the month, resulting in a $1,794.75 donation to the United Way.

 

Thunder Bay wasn’t the only community celebrating Novemburger this year. Nine additional United Ways across Canada held their own Novemburger campaigns, under the guidance of United Way of Thunder Bay.

 

The money raised from Novemburger this year will go to local food related programs and initiatives that provide healthy food to individuals, families and seniors in need, such as the Dew Drop Inn, the Good Food Box, and through programs for children and youth offered by Our Kids Count, Shkoday and Evergreen A United Neighbourhood.

 

“Novemburger is about more than eating delicious burgers – it’s about building a stronger community and supporting those in need,” says United Way of Thunder Bay CEO, Albert Brulé. “This campaign is an opportunity for all of us to come together and make a meaningful impact. As Novemburger grows year after year, so does our ability to improve the lives of local individuals and families. The incredible enthusiasm we see from the community during this campaign is a powerful reminder Better is Possible.”

 

To learn more, visit www.novemburgeruwaytbay.ca