Volunteer Engagement Sessions
On February 26 Ottawa City Council approved the Wigwamen housing project which includes a new space us. There was an article in the Ottawa Citizen here. We are actively negotiating our lease agreement with Metcalfe Realty for our temporary space during the build. After more than 18 month of delays we are now looking at a mid/late summer move. Fingers crossed!
The GEFC received funding from the Ottawa Community Foundation to support expenses related to this adventure, including paying for the architect, communications around our temporary move and community engagement activities to solicit input about our new space. We will be holding a session for volunteers in April, so mark your calendars. A light supper will be provided.
Volunteer Engagement Evening
Tuesday April 22, 6-8 pm
Pat Clark Community Centre
4355 Halmont Drive
Please RSVP so we know numbers – gefc@gefc.ca
What we will talk about?
● In 2022, GEFC conducted a survey to better understand how our services were received by the users of the food bank. We have also learned from surveys conducted by the Ottawa Food Bank and engagement exercises by the City of Ottawa on food insecurity. We have also learned that there are gaps in community food infrastructure that inhibit our ability to continue to address food insecurity in the Beacon-Hill Cyrville area. This information will provide the context for our conversations:
● While many food bank users like being able to order on-line or over the phone as choices are provided, some would like to be able to “shop” in-person. What would a hybrid look like?
● Food Bank users like being able to make appointments. It is efficient and avoids line-ups but can reduce important in-person interactions. How can we offer more “wrap around supports” and support in other languages?
● Except for the Mission Food Truck and Meals on Wheels there are no community meals or food drop-ins within the GEFC catchment area. There is no community kitchen, which could provide an opportunity for increased local connections through meal sharing, food preparation, or cooking workshops. What can we do with our kitchen?
● We are thinking about changing our name. Our current name is outdated. We are not a food cupboard and we are not an emergency food bank, we are a community food bank that also creates capacity for broader food security (through our community garden and farm programs). And we will have a community kitchen!
Help needed: We also need a few volunteers to assist at the community meetings with food bank users. Volunteer tasks include things like child minding, distributing name tags & snacks, and note taking.
Dates for consultations with food bank users:
Thursday, April 24 12:30 to 2:30
Tuesday, April 29 6:00 to 8:00
Thursday, May 1 6:00 to 8:00
These will be held at the Library or at the Donald Street Capital Towers. If you are available to help on any of these dates, please reply by email to gefc@gefc.ca or erin@gefc.ca. Thank you!