Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Jill Sperling

Takeaway meals

Mount Paul Community Food Centre providing daily meals through pandemic

Apr 24, 2020 | 3:49 PM

KAMLOOPS — Food insecurity is a growing concern for individuals and families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under normal circumstances, the Mount Paul Community Food Centre (CFC) would be providing programs to help people grow and cook their own food.

Due to the social nature of these programs, the food centre has shifted gears, and now provides free takeaway meals five days a week.

Thanks to food supply from the Kamloops Food Bank, the CFC is preparing hundreds of meals a day.

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“Every day we prepare a fresh meal, usually between 150-180 fresh meals and those are going every day,” manager Dawn Christie said. “We also offer anyone who comes through a frozen soup option. So they can take a fresh meal and a frozen soup. On average, right now we’re giving out 250 meals a day Monday to Friday.”

The CFC offers delivery to those who cannot pick up their meals in person. For those who can, the parking lot has been set up in a way to encourage physical distancing.

“We have the ability to make meals right now and help out people who are struggling to put food on their tables,” Christie said. “I think it’s just a way we can give back to the community who has supported us in developing a community food centre here in Kamloops.”

The Mount Paul Community Food Centre is owned and operated by Interior Community Services.

Some of its staff can no longer fulfill their regular duties and have been re-deployed to the CFC.

“We have different teams every day of the week,” Christie said. “I would probably say on average we have about 30 people in addition to the six regular staff here at the CFC. So, on the Monday our regular team comes in and helps us prepare meals for that day and then there’s a different team that comes in on Tuesday. And then we do the physical distancing inside to create all the meals.”

Christie says she expects the number of people in need of the service to rise in the coming weeks, as the pandemic continues. The centre has a number of services available for those who are self-isolating.

“If they have a support person in their life they can send that person to our location and if they’re still struggling they can give us a call at the centre here,” Christie said. “We do have the capacity to do some deliveries. We’re also enhancing our seniors grocery shopping assistance program and our meal delivery program and our hamper delivery program. So, there are some other options that we can do for outreach.”

Anyone with questions about the program can call the Mount Paul CFC at 236-421-1011.