A spirit of community

Christmas and the holiday season are for many, a time of hope. Christmas lights and Hanukkah candles symbolize this as they
brighten the darkness of our winter nights.

Many of us look forward to festive gatherings with family and friends. Our homes are filled with the mouth-watering aromas of special treats only seen, tasted, and enjoyed at this time of year. Unfortunately, for too many people in our community, this is not the case. For a lot of families there will be no home cooked turkey, shortbread or pumpkin pie. But the holidays are a time of hope, so let me tell you a little story…

Once upon a time, not too long ago and very near to us all, a simple question led to an amazing quest. John Trevisanutto, a local businessman and Myron Karpiuk, principal of St Jude School (one of our ‘inner-city’ schools) met on a plane. John asked the simple question “Myron, what do you feed first, the body or the mind?” The answer that came was not so simple, but it was eye-opening. John learned that many of the poor families in the St. Jude school district lacked not food, not knowledge of how to cook, but lacked the very basic tools needed to feed their families. Their homes lacked refrigerators and stoves. In other words, these families could neither keep food safe, nor prepare the most simple of meals. This information shook John to the bottom of his big heart. He had found his quest.

John arranged meeting after meeting to see what could be done to alleviate this problem. He met with many of the food banks in the city and was shocked by the erratic nature of availability. One might be open only on Thursday afternoons, another a couple of mornings a week, but limited access to once a month. Some only allowed people from the north, or south side of town. Long talks with Larry Brigham, then director of the Regional Food Distribution Association, taught John that a lot of food went unused due to lack of kitchen facilities. A prime example is flour. Even bannock, a staple of the Aboriginal diet can’t be made without a stove.

It was clear that a Community Kitchen was needed. Sounded simple, but now there was a need to find suitable premises, and an organization to run it. The search for a charitable organization led John to Our Kids Count, a Public Health Agency of Canada family-centered agency which helps support any family in need. Their mandate includes a community kitchen. Like a hand in a glove, the fit was perfect. However, the site of the OKC offices at Northwood Mall was not big enough. Well, the RFDA was leaving their building on McKenzie St., so arrangements were made to purchase the building. All the renovations needed to bring the building up to code for the kitchen would have stopped a lesser man in his tracks, but John does not have a shy bone in his body when it comes to asking for money, goods, or services for a charitable cause.

The past two years since a simple question was asked has seen some wonderful responses from the local community. Everyone will be recognized at the grand opening, but there are a few companies who have brought Our Community Kitchen to the point where it will be structurally ready before this Christmas, and opening soon after all testing has been completed.

Fred Wood of the architect firm of Leonard Alfred Wood drew up the plans, Genivar Engineering did the electrical blueprints, and Automation Now has done the electrical layout. But involvement in this project is not limited to businesses. One of the most exciting groups to be involved is the advanced woodworking class of St. Patrick’s High School, which, under the guidance of teacher Ramon Verardo, is doing the interior construction. Not only will they be building walls that will stand for years and provide hope for many families, they will be learning important construction techniques for life, and hopefully learning the value of volunteering in making good things happen.

Our Community Kitchen will not be a commercial kitchen. The stoves will be the kind that might be found in a typical home. The fridges and freezers will have lockable compartments so each family can store their food securely. All volunteers will pass a safe food-handling course from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.

The goal is to have Our Community Kitchen open six days a week. While cooking and nutrition lessons may be available, each family will be able to cook to meet their own needs, likes and dislikes. However, families that cook together tend to eat healthier food, leading to a healthier community, which, in turn, lessens the demand on the health care system,
a goal we can all recognize as important.

But nothing comes for free, so where will the money come from? While there have been many generous donors so far, the goal is to have enough funds “banked” to keep the kitchen running without the need to seek funding at any government level.

Thunder Bay is rightly called the City with the Giant Heart, but many citizens will be amazed when the whole financial picture is revealed.
This year the funds raised by each of the very popular events, the StewieFest and the Ishkinaker Shaker, will be donated to Our Community Kitchen. If history repeats itself this will mean a very sizable sum will soon enrich this worthwhile project.

The current goal is to have both the building and sufficient funds in place for an opening early in the New Year, hopefully, in January.

So a simple question led to an amazing quest and, soon, to hope for many families.

When you are filling your home with the sweet scents of this holiday season, remember those whose homes lack basic food security. Donations made to Our Kids Count attention Our Community Kitchen will help make this important venture a reality and this story will truly have a happy ending for all those families who would love to feed their children with home cooked meals.

Donations can be made to “Our Kids Count” KITCHEN PROJECT at 425 Edward St. N. (623-0292) or at Half-Way Motors, 940 Memorial Ave. (345-2327)