By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
Four volunteer action centres in the region have received a combined $268,000 in funding for the expansion or renovation of their kitchens or food storage areas through a program administered by the provincial government via the Banques alimentaires du Québec food bank network.
The funds went to the Centre d’action bénévole (CAB) de Farnham ($100,000 toward establishing a community kitchen at its future location at the Centre d’art de Farnham), the CAB de Cowansville ($100,000 toward a commercial kitchen and cold storage room), the CAB Marguerite-Dubois in Bromont (just over $45,000 toward renovation and enlargement of storage space) and the CAB Aux 4 Vents in Waterloo ($23,475 toward renovation and new equipment purchases).
Jean Valiquette, director of the CAB de Farnham, called the funding “a drop in the bucket, but a welcome drop.” The CAB is currently trying to raise a total of $6 million to get facilities in the disused Centre d’art up to code and move its community kitchen and food and clothing distribution services there, where it will share a building with the Maison des jeunes, the Association des personnes handicapées physiques de Brome-Missisquoi and other community organizations. Valiquette hopes the move will be able to take place this summer. The Centre d’art doesn’t currently have a kitchen.
“We can’t do all we want right away, but with this money, we can at least get started,” he told the BCN. “We are starting from zero. We need a kitchen built to [provincial food safety] standards with gas, electricity, plumbing… it’s a lot of work.” Once the community kitchen is functional, Valiquette hopes the CAB can use it to run cooking activities and benefit people in need. “Last year, we handed out 14,000 meals, and we’re trying to improve on that,” he said.
The Farnham CAB expansion project has run into several obstacles, from difficulty accessing federal funding to vandals raiding a locked shipping container filled with donated clothes. Valiquette invited people interested in supporting the centre to visit its website or drop by its current location on Rue Principale during opening hours to learn more.
Cowansville expansion fund nears goal
In Cowansville, CAB expansion project manager Nathalia Guerrero Vélez said the funding would go toward a $765,000 project to equip the centre with an adequate, wheelchair-accessible kitchen; a cold storage room and a multipurpose room to run cooking workshops. Hot meals made in the kitchen will be given to the town warming centre and food bank or sold at an affordable price to support the CAB, Vélez explained. She said the centre is currently using a rented storage space which isn’t large or accessible enough for its needs.
She said the organization had already raised $541,000 through various government programs and nonprofits. A benefit lunch to support the kitchen project is planned for Feb. 2 at 11:30 a.m. at Campus Brome-Missisquoi; call 450-263-3758 for more information.