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Paul McMenemy introduced our speaker, Dianne McLeod, Executive Director of the Cambridge Food Bank. Dianne has a long history with the food banks and 'knows the ropes'. 20 years ago she started as a student placement, then a single mom of three who returned to school as she moved up in the organization. She has earned several awards for her community service and says that her biggest joy is mentoring others on their journey. Her mantra is ' Healthy People, connected to the Community, and being environmentally Sustainable. Here are just a some of the services that the Food Bank provides. 1/ Community Pantry: A monthly food hamper for those in need. ( food bank spends $2000/month on eggs) 2/seed share programme...6000 packets last year. 3/Food rescue programme. Canadians waste 35 million tons of food each year. 4/ Their garden at Rare provides 10,000lbs of vegetables / year. 5/ A partnership with Threshold Homes teaches residents with mental health issues how to grow their own food. 6/ A wellness hub. This is an area for grandparents raising their grandchildren. Seniors can meet and do pilates, laughter yoga etc. 7/Youth programmes...how to shop etc 8Youth wellness programmes : food and literacy. 9/ The Mobile Food Market. Now serving 11 locations in Cambridge and North Dumfries. We supported the purchase of the Food Van. People get food for $5 but this amount costs the food bank $17/ person. 10/ Fertile Ground: A farm that grows food for the food bank. 11/. A presence and the Cambridge Farmer's Market. They sell food and preserves. I think Jeff Hunter has some role in this. And there is more! How do they do it? They have regular staff but over 250 volunteers,. Jen Germann-Wright spoke about their capital campaign. They need to move and get a bigger place. How do they do this when only a fraction of their operating budget comes from the Region? Thankyou Dianne and Jen. Todd ended the meeting by telling an ' eyebrow ' joke. If you weren't there, you missed it. |
