Helping hand

Councillors overturn staff recommendation, put their support behind in-kind use of community centre kitchens

It’s looking like Local food insecurity group Food to Share will be the recipient of some kindness from council. Last Thursday, Committee of the Whole showed support for the group, overturning a staff recommendation to deny in-kind use of County-owned community centre kitchens.

County staff had recommended to deny the request and direct Food to Share to apply to the municipal community grants program for funding. The grants program was allocated an additional $20,000 during the 2019 budget deliberations, specifically for food insecurity initiatives.

Glen Wallis, founder of Food to Share, made the request in July to waive rental fees to use the kitchens at the Picton and Wellington Community Centres. “We would like to scaleup our food prep, which means getting access to other kitchens in the County and that’s really what today’s ask is all about,” said Wallis.

When staff met with the Manager of Community Centres and Events Marketing, Lisa Lindsay, it was discovered that a fourhour booking of the facility by Food to Share often impacts more than a full day, in part due to the pre- and post-booking requirements. Materials are typically dropped off prior to the use of the kitchen and often require storage in the refrigerators prior to the booking. Following the booking, the refrigerators and freezers continue to hold prepared meals until they are collected to be delivered. This can cause other paying customers to be turned away and potential revenue for the municipality be lost. A full day rental rate for one of the halls can range from $280 to $800.

Councillor Jamie Forrester wanted to see council help Food to Share. “I’d like to see these kitchens be made available. It’s going to cost us a little bit of money, but we are going to have to find different ways of continuting to support these groups. There are people that can’t afford to feed themselves,” said Forrester.

Councillor Bill Roberts felt that the money lost by the community centre was a non-issue. “I feel this is nickel and diming the disadvantaged and most vulnerable in our community. To look at the discomfort caused by arrangements that might possibly be looking at $280 to $800 on lost opportunity costs versus the thing we are trying to tackle, I think it is really not an issue,” said Roberts.

The report also suggested that the community facilities may not be the best suited for groups that are looking to scale up operations or establish a more permanent presence for meal prep and storage of their equipment and food.

Councillor Mike Harper thought there was room to work with Food to Share on coordinating bookings when the hall isn’t busy. “I feel like this is a really important thing. $20,000 isn’t a lot, and to take away from the $20,000 some money for facilities that we already own, Food to Share would, I’m sure, be happy to talk on scheduling so we schedule a day that is least likely to lose money,” said Harper.

Councillor Roberts agreed. “If we’re going to take income, equality and community wellness seriously, we should be able to put up with a little bit of discomfort around this process,” he added.

Councillor Ernie Margetson wanted to see the County work with the group until the County Food Hub was up and running. “I personally don’t want to deny this volunteer group access to a facility to do good work. I’m hoping we can help them waive the cost, and hopefully provide an opportunity for a kitchen until the [County] Food Hub is ready.”

Director of Community Development and Strategic Initiatives Neil Carbone wanted to make it clear that the County Food Hub isn’t owned or managed by the municipality. “I don’t think we should make an expectation that the Food Hub is going to be able to accommodate Food to Share specifically and all of its more permanent kitchen establishment needs,” said Carbone. “We are not in the position to tell the Food Hub to supply kitchen space free of charge to Food to Share.”

Councillor John Hirsch reminded his peers that the staff report was not meant to deny funding, but was suggesting a different way to apply for it. “What staff has suggested, is that the appropriate vehicle to do this is through the Community Grants Program,” Hirsch said. “To approve one-off deals like this outside of the program is not the desired way to do it,” said Hirsch.

The new motion, which will be brought to the next council meeting and likely approved, sets a one-year limitation to waive the fees, which will allow more information to be gathered before making a final decision.

Food to Share began with an Awesome Foundation grant in 2015. Since then, it has produced over 15,000 meals using locally-grown produce with the help more than 100 volunteers.

A current partnership between the County Foundation, Food to Share and the County’s Community Development Department has received a grant through the Rural Ontario Institute to develop plans for addressing local food insecurity, including various models for distribution and food bank sustainability.