Feeding the community in insecure times

St. Vital

Elmwood

South Pointe

As food insecurity continues to grow, Teen Stop Jeunesse is doing more and more to support the community.

Teen Stop, located at 533 St. Anne’s Rd., is an established drop-in centre which caters to youngsters aged eight to 18 and offers kids a safe space to spend time when they’re not in school.

What some people may not know is that, for the last several years, the St. Vital-based non-profit organization has been providing outreach services to help feed people in need, and now serves the community’s adult population, too.

Pat’s Pantry began in the fall of 2022 as part of a broader nutrition-security program at the centre, which includes the provision of freshly prepared meals. It was created in response to the visible food insecurity staff were seeing relating to individuals and families accessing services, explained Kelly-Anne Reyes, executive director of Teen Stop Jeunesse.

“Pat’s Pantry started small, rooted in the overwhelming need we were seeing in our community and a strong desire to do more, even though we weren’t yet sure what a long-term, sustainable solution would look like. What we did know was that people wanted support, and we wanted to respond,” Reyes said.

She said the main goals of Pat’s Pantry, within the nutrition security program, are to reduce food insecurity, minimize food waste, and provide consistent access to nutritious food in a dignified way. The pantry works alongside the centre’s meal program to ensure folks have access to healthy food, both on-site and at home.

“The program is operated by our centre with the support of one dedicated staff member, a large team of volunteers, and strong partnerships with local grocery stores,” Reyes said.

Local branches of grocery stores Sobeys, Safeway and FreshCo are core contributors to the program, donating items on a daily basis.

With the help of a grant from the Winnipeg Foundation, Reyes said Teen Stop Jeunesse was able to formally launch its food security program.

“That funding allowed us to begin providing freshly prepared meals — three meals a day — to more than 200 individuals, out of the approximately 275 people who walk through our doors each day,” Reyes said.

“The grant also enabled us to purchase refrigerators and freezers for our pantry, which truly became a game-changer. Having proper storage meant we could safely store and preserve more food, including good healthy items that would otherwise be discarded, and either prepare meals or send food home with families in need,” she said.

The program’s growth has been shaped by ongoing learning, refinement of best practices and relationship-building across the community, Reyes said.

One such community relationship is with Teen Stop volunteer and area resident Maria Fontaine. Once housebound by mental health and anxiety issues, Fontaine went to the centre one day to find food for her starving family. As time went on, and step-by-step, Fontaine has become a much-loved volunteer and now calls the centre her “safe place.”

Fontaine said it’s been very important to her to give back to a place that has put so much faith in her.

“The centre has been a godsend for me,” she said. “I’ve accomplished a lot by being here — getting to know the surroundings, the people, and the community. I’ve evolved, and nothing but good has come out of it.”

“I come here when I can, and it really helps. There’s so much help and understanding here, and if we had one of these on every street, nobody would go without,” Fontaine added. “Volunteering here is just pinch compared to what they’ve done for me.”

Jia Liu, who attends career training in the building, said the pantry has been invaluable to her and her family.

“I have six family members, and the money we spend on groceries keep rising and rising,” said Liu, who lives in South Pointe. “It’s been really helpful, and it also helps increase people’s self-esteem.”

Liu said some of the main items she picks up are potatoes, onions, peppers, carrots, strawberries, bananas, and sometimes eggs and meat.

Classmate Melissa Ducharme, who also attends career training, is grateful for the opportunity to bring home food for herself, as well as her elderly neighbour on a fixed income.

“If see something, I can just grab-and-go. Yesterday, I took home 10 to 15 green peppers, and I’ve also bought home lots of fruit,” said Ducharme, who lives in Elmwood.

“This makes me feel happy, as food is going up so much these days, and it helps keep my costs down. And I use the food instantly, so nothing is wasted.”

Reyes said the centre most recently a food security grant from United Way Winnipeg, allowing it to continue to provide the program. She emphasized the funding was open-ended, meaning “they do not dictate what costs are eligible or what funds are to be used within the project.”

“When funding is open-ended, organizations get to put the funds to use in the most useful ways and often this allows us to stretch the dollars even further,” she said.

Go online at www.teenstop.ca for more information.