Author: Alissa Campbell

It was a beautiful mild autumn day when 29 PFC volunteers and neighbours headed to Proulx Farm in Cumberland. We made a quick pit stop to pick up hot chocolate for everyone from Bridgehead and to pick up some friends at the Bronson Centre, and then we were on our way. Giselle Proulx greeted us as we arrived at the farm. She told us how the farm is 200 acres and it`s the fourth generation of the family who`s taking over the operation of the farm. She provided us with some tips about choosing and cooking pumpkins (the smaller sugar pumpkins are sweeter, fleshier and less watery—perfect for cooking pies, muffins, soups and cakes) and also talked about crop rotation and how it is good for the soil. We took a tour of the barn to look at the farm animals, a hayride through the maple trees where they tap sap for maple syrup in the spring, and a walk through one of the corn mazes. After a delicious lunch of sandwiches and muffins prepared by PFC volunteers, fresh apples from a local orchard (thanks Ross!), and hot chocolate from Bridgehead, we got down to work picking the perfect pumpkins for cooking. Everyone picked 2 or 3 pumpkins to take home to cook and we`ll use the rest of the pumpkins for roasting the seeds and in recipes in our cooking workshop next Thursday, October 23, with Jo-Ann Laverty (co-owner of the Red Apron). We are looking forward to hearing what our neighbours made with their pumpkins, to share recipes and tips, and to sample some tasty pumpkin treats!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the Trillium Foundation for making this possible, to Bridgehead for the hot chocolate donation, to all of our neighbours who braved the weather to come out and pick pumpkins (as it was, it didn`t start raining until we were on our way home), and to Proulx Farm for the opportunity to see how pumpkins are grown and harvested.

The day started out cool and overcast, but the sun emerged and it soon warmed up—a perfect fall day. It was a short bus ride out to North Gower where Rideau Pines Farm is located. For a lot of our neighbours, this is one of the few opportunities they`ll have to get out of the city and breathe in the fresh air and experience the serenity of the country.

We were greeted warmly by the Vandenbergs and given a tour of the fields. We soon got to work harvesting tomatoes, peppers, kale, peppers and leeks. Paul Vandenberg showed us how to harvest the vegetables and his brother, Matt, give us an enthusiastic demonstration on the different varieties of peppers (one of which had a rich brown hue and was called “chocolate”). We devoured peppers whole and juicy cantaloupe fresh off the vine. After picking tomatoes, leeks, and peppers, we stopped for lunch: sandwiches and muffins made by Parkdale Food Centre volunteers and apples from a local orchard.

Once we got back to the centre, we counted all of the bags of food (10 garbage bags full of kale alone!) and our neighbours got to take home what they harvested. We froze a lot of the harvest to give out over the winter, we gave some to our neighbours and another food bank, and some went to highJinx to distribute in their neighbourhood.

We`d like to thank Trillium and Rideau Pines Farm for giving our neighbours a chance to get out of the city, harvest food for themselves, taste truly fresh food, share recipes (thanks Amalia for the recipe on how to cook pumpkin leaves!), and contribute to their community in a meaningful way. We can`t wait for our next farm visit!

 

We knew we had to do something big to celebrate our amazing Trillium Grant.  Rather than a standard press conference announcement we “cooked up” something magical.  First we asked our neighbours who have attended cooking workshops to come in and help prepare some special appetizers. They worked with Chef Tom who hosts a monthly Italian Cooking workshop for us. Then we invited the chefs to come and be served appetizers from some of the very students they had worked with in previous Cooking Workshops. It was wonderful to see the pride in their faces as they saw the chefs tasting the delicious appetizers. It was a full circle moment where the students became the chefs!

It was a great feeling to see the wide mix of PFC neighbours, local chefs, volunteers, Board members and many media attend the announcement.

For the actual announcement, Sherrie Franklin, a Board member from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) and local MPP Yasir Naqvi, presented the Parkdale Food Centre with a two year $92,800 OTF grant. “Parkdale Food Centre is a community hub committed to promoting and building vibrant and active lifestyles. With this important financial support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, I am confident that they will build on their success and continue to provide healthy nutritious meals to vulnerable women, men and children in our community.” MPP Yasir Naqvi, Ottawa Centre

Don Flynn, Chair of the PFC presented Christine Earnshaw, a Board member and one two key grant writers (with Heather Hossie who couldn’t make the announcement but we delivered the flowers to her!) with bouquets of red roses to say thanks for all their hard work that went into the grant. He stated “We are all looking forward to launching the programs funded by this grant and making an even larger contribution to our neighbours in need and the wider community. Grants such as these allow us to try out new programs and continue to expand how we can help our neighbours.”

Two of our business supporters, Sheila Whyte from Thyme & Again and Carley Schelck from Urban Element also spoke about how the new programs and the Community Kitchen at PFC have impressed them and inspired them to find new ways to help our neighbours. Many of the chefs took time from their busy days to come and speak to the media about their experiences working in our communal kitchen. Thanks to Patrick from Absinthe, Jason from Essence Catering, Darlene Personal Chef Sam from West End Well, and Jen from Foodieprints. We continue to be humbled about how much this community gives back and how the various business leaders and chefs find time to support our endeavours.

The OTF grant includes many different components but one we are very excited to get going are some partnerships with local organizations including Hidden Harvest and the Dalhousie Food Cupboard. This investment will also support the organization in leading the establishment of an Ottawa Network for Community Food Banks. At PFC we always strive to do more and we are excited to take this next step in our evolution.

We are the Board of Directors for the Parkdale Food Centre. There was a recent interview by one of our local news programs about our approach to food at the Parkdale Food Centre. It has generated quite a lot of feedback and commentary within our community, as well as across the city and at the national level. You may have seen the interview during your nightly news broadcast, heard about it on the radio or read about it online.

The responses we have received from all across the country have been both positive and negative and we welcome that dialogue. We feel it would be helpful to share some information about our centre, why we do what we do, and why we’re so focused on presenting healthy food options to our clients.

We accept all donations, except expired, opened or badly dented containers. Our preference is for healthy wholesome foods and offer suggestions on our Good Food list. We receive generous support from the Ottawa Food Bank (OFB) and apologize for any confusion between our statements and the Ottawa Food Bank.  The OFB is our single largest supplier of donated food and we could not do what we do without their continued support. We also heavily rely on our local community partners, including businesses, Churches, schools and individuals for food or financial donations.

We understand that some may have taken offence at how the message of this interview was described and delivered, seeing it as a criticism of people’s personal choices versus an attempt to highlight an important issue on the lack of food choice and security. That was not the intent. A single headline should not define the Centre or the excellent work of our staff and many volunteers.  Our approach and beliefs are driven by the needs of our clients and donors who we talk a little more about, below.

At our core, we are driven by two obligations, one to our donors and one to those who rely on the Centre:

We have an obligation to our donors, those who support the Centre through monetary, service and food donations to spend the money we receive wisely, getting the best value while also offering the highest quality of food that we can.

We also have an obligation to those who rely on the Centre to provide them with healthy and nutritional food options. Many, given their financial constraints, struggle to purchase nutritional food, particularly as our centre is in an area of the city that is part of a food desert, with few options for affordable fresh produce and no large grocery stores. Many who rely on the Centre do not have the power to choose what to eat and unhealthy foods often make up the core of their daily diet rather than being just an occasional meal or a ‘treat’.

These two obligations are at the heart of how we operate, and resonate with both our donors and our clients. We are passionate about our work and believe in the power of healthy food to transform people’s lives and foster healthier, more connected communities. Our Crock Pot Cooking Classes, cooking workshops, communal meals and support of the Good Food Box are a few examples of how we are working, not just to stock shelves, but to build knowledge, skills and opportunities for the people who visit our Centre. Many local restaurants and chefs lead our cooking workshops, sharing their knowledge in cooking healthy and nutritional meals while providing our clients with the encouragement and skills for cooking meals at home. Our clients have also welcomed this approach to healthy eating and are now regular volunteers at the Centre and a number of them now assist and lead the activities. And probably the most important change we have seen has been the feedback from our clients on their improved health and well-being.

If you are interested in additional information about the Parkdale Food Centre please contact us at info@parkdalefoodcentre.org

– The Parkdale Food Centre Board of Directors

Two of our favourite PFC supporters, Beyond The Pale and the Hintonburg Public House are hosting a Tap Takeover and Dance Party at the HPH on Saturday August 9th – and we can’t wait!

With eight beers on tap for your perusal, a DJ dance party AND discounted pints of Beyond the Pale’s locally-brewed beers ALL NIGHT LONG, craft beer lovers and locals are sure to have a great time! Every hour there will be something special to look forward to PLUS there will be an interactive way to help your neighbours in need at the Parkdale Food Centre & win some tasty prizes. Fun starts at 8PM.

Visit the event page on Facebook for more details.