A Lowertown recreation centre is blocking a local food bank from moving in to a neighbouring building
In the heart of Lowertown, a food bank faces the uphill battle of meeting soaring demand while grappling with space constraints. Despite the promise of a new facility, access hurdles stand in the way.
Catherine Dubois has dedicated a year to volunteering at the Lowertown Food Bank on Beausoleil Street. She's worried about the cramped conditions.
"It's clearly too small, it's clearly overwhelmed by all of the food that has come here," said Dubois.
The Lowertown Food Bank is unable to expand services due to space limitations.
"The services that we would like to see in our community can't be offered because the food bank, at the present time, it takes over the whole space," says Dubois. "So we can't offer homework clubs, for example. We can't offer groups for early years for the little ones in our community."
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
Originally never intended as a food bank location, the Lowertown Community Centre had no choice but to address the overwhelming demand for food.
The City has tried to respond to the great need and a motion was adopted by City Council in October and November 2023, advocating moving the food bank to the municipal building at 40 Cobourg St.
Patro d'Ottawa Rec Centre. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)
"It's been really disheartening to see the great increase in demand for the services in the food bank. But it's also meant that unfortunately, the space here, which was inappropriate for a food bank at the beginning, is now bursting at the seams," says Matt Beutel, Executive Director of the Lowertown Community Resource Centre. "Unfortunately, we haven't been able to access that (Coburg Street) space because a mobility access ramp has been denied to us."
The reluctance to share access to the ramp, owned by the adjacent recreation center, is a mystery for many.
Patro d'Ottawa Rec Centre ramp. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)
The councillor for the area is hoping an agreement can be made after years of being denied access.
"You know, something like a food bank is not really, let's just say, a place to kind of play these games where you're saying this side is mine, that side is yours. We really need to come together as a community and I'm really hoping that we can broker some sort of arrangement so people can have food in their bellies. At the end of the day, that's all that matters," said Rideau-Vanier Ward Coun. Stéphanie Plante.
The community centre says the new facilities would make it easier to serve thousands more families every year. But many of their clients have mobility issues. Without the ramp, there is no way to operate here.
"It's hard to understand why access to a ramp is the only stumbling block for this high-needs community to have what it deserves," said Beutel.
Right now, the Lowertown Food Bank is forced to turn down food donations because they have nowhere to store it and that means turning away families in need.
"We'd just like an adequate space for all of these folks that are coming because I think, at the very least, they deserve to have this service which is so essential to their well-being," said Dubois.
CTV News reached out to the recreation centre but did not hear back.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a "major assault."
DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's inflation cools to 3-year low of 2.7%, in boost for rate cut bets
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
'Documents are fraudulent': Graceland is not for sale, Elvis Presley's granddaughter says in lawsuit
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ’n’ roll's former home as collateral was not repaid.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
Flight PS752 victims' families say they're not sorry to hear of Iran president death
Members of a Canadian group representing families of those killed when Iranian officials shot down Flight PS752 in January 2020 say they are not sorry to hear of the death of Iran's president.