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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Low-cost grocery co-op feeds poor well

Prepayment means cupboard is never bare

By: Carol Sanders

Posted: 07/2/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Folks on a tight budget can now afford fresh dairy, meat and produce, thanks to a new grocery co-operative for low-income families.

"Our kids always have fresh fruit and milk and meat," said Jen Lajoie, who has joined Agape Table's grocery co-op in West Broadway.

"It's the good stuff," said the mom, who lives in an apartment in the neighbourhood with her partner and two young children.

"Cherries, oranges, watermelon, pork chops, milk, bananas -- there's lots of selection," said Lajoie, who is on social assistance.

She picked up a dozen eggs for a buck there last week, she said. Being able to count on having healthy, fresh food is a relief, she said.

In the past, they've run out of food and money. "It's happened to us a lot, but now we can put money in our account."

When Lajoie receives her social assistance cheque, she deposits $150 in her Agape Table grocery co-op account.

"I don't have to worry. Now we can go shopping every week and have fresh food."

On Tuesdays from noon to 2 p.m., Agape Table opens its grocery co-op at the back of All Saints Church on Colony Street at Broadway.

"We lay it out in a farmers' market style," said the charity's executive director, Mark Courtney.

"It's a budgeting tool," he said. "They feel like 'I can put that in the bank and know I'll have fresh dairy every week.' It takes the edge off in lean times."

The charity wanted to help people who were ready to "step out of the cycle" of constant food emergencies, he said.

"This is part of our response to those ready to budget," Courtney said.

Earlier this year, Agape Table started a breakfast program that broke ranks with the standard soup-kitchen model. For $1, clients could buy a better breakfast. They can pay $1 at a time or purchase a $10 punch card that entitles them to 11 breakfasts. Those who can't or won't pay are still welcome to soup.

Now Agape Table is selling groceries just below cost to make them affordable, he said.

"We went and bought 20 tomatoes for $2," Lajoie said. "At Extra Foods that would've cost $8 or $9."

Two litres of two per cent milk at the grocery co-op will cost around $1.40, Courtney said. That's less than the price of a two-litre soft drink at a corner store and much more nutritious.

Families who join Agape Table's grocery co-op get free access to its registered dietitian and a community chef for help with meal planning.

"When people are given the ability to choose, they will make smart choices," Courtney said.

For more information, see www.agapetable.ca or call 783-6369.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 2, 2010 B3

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