Image Credit: Adam Donnelly / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

WHAT'S NEXT FOR 'THE LOOP'

Loop drop-in centre converts to mobile meal delivery after moving out of former location

Aug 6, 2024 | 6:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — Over the long weekend, the Loop drop-in facility at 405 Tranquille Rd. closed its doors, but the centre’s operator says it has pivoted to mobile meal distribution.

The building was purchased several months ago and the Loop had agreed to move out by the end of July. That date arrived, the locks were changed and the rest of the Loop’s kitchen equipment was moved out on Tuesday (Aug. 6).

The facility had been providing meals for homeless people on the city’s north shore. And without another building to move in to, Loop operator Glenn Hilke says they have been driving donated food and water to street-affected individuals and vulnerable populations around Kamloops.

This past weekend marked a return to the mobile ‘meal train’ style distribution that the Loop had used during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Hilke says volunteers helped with the donations and delivery, and many of the meals doled out were provided by the Kamloops Food Bank’s FoodShare initiative.

“We have two sides of our city right, divided by a river and bridges and so on. And for folks that are based downtown, it’s not easy no matter what season of the year, to get to the north shore and vice versa,” Hilke says. “And so I think the Meal Train is going to have to be a constant for awhile, until we find another day room downtown at least.”

Hilke says the Loop doesn’t have another building space lined up yet and will be sticking with the mobile meal operation for the foreseeable future.

He notes that on average, the Loop had been serving 100 sit-down meals per day out of its Tranquille location.

“Where are people going now? You can find them all over the place, honestly. Yeah, you’ll find them everywhere,” Hilke says. “Usually people are trying to hang out close to where they can access services, where they can access shade right now during the summer and where they just feel like it’s safe for them right now.”

Last month, the City of Kamloops stated in a news released that it is close to finalizing the purchase of a site on the north shore for a year-round Access Hub, which would provide 24/7 shelter operations, including meals and other social and health services.