Donations are up at a west end food centre in Ottawa that took a tough stand on unhealthy donations of food . And today, the Ontario government added its voice with a grant for the Parkdale Food Centre to continue its good work. The centre has had a rough couple of weeks after the centre’s coordinator explained what they did not want in terms of food donations.
"I don't want Alphagetti, canned stew, Kraft Dinner, pop,” coordinator Karen Secord told CTV news when our story first aired in August.
Secord got a verbal lashing over social media for those comments but clearly many in the community backed her. Donations are up substantially this August compared to a year ago, says board member Christine Earnshaw.
“We attribute it partly to being in the news and it has elicited a lot of response.”
"We've had farmers coming as far as an hour away in Quebec bringing us fresh produce,” Secord explained today, “the other day ,we had a farmer from Buckingham come in with two full buckets with organic kale, zucchini and cucumbers. We put it on the table over there and within 20 minutes it was gone. So, people have been wanting to come for that reason and bring good food and we’ve had lots of (people offering to) volunteer.”
Add to that a $92,800 thousand dollar grant through the government's Trillium Foundation, after the Food Centre applied for the grant months ago.
"I'm very proud that the Ontario government is investing in the Parkdale Food Centre,” said the Liberal MPP for Ottawa-Centre Yasir Naqvi, “and their philosophy of helping people rebuild their lives. It helps the system, when it comes to our health care, and our mental health care by investing in projects like this.”
It's a philosophy backed by businesses in the area as well who are donating both food and time, teaching clients at the Parkdale Food Centre how to cook. Patrick Garland, the chef and owner of Absinthe Café, has raised money at his restaurant for the food centre and volunteered his time there.
"The community, all the businesses and those people around her you saw today have rallied around her,” Garland told CTV News, “and their donations are up so it's a good thing.”
To her critics, Karen Secord has this to add.
"I know in my heart that everyone deserves good food and for anyone who had anything negative to say we invite you to come here and see.”
The money from the province will be used to build a community kitchen for people living in rooming houses and to help create a network of community food banks to share ideas.
