The number of people living in food insecure households has more than tripled since 2020. Throughout the pandemic the Agape Centre’s foodbank remained open, never closing, and following imposed restrictions on service delivery. Our dedicated team of staff and volunteers distributed premade hampers of non-perishable and fresh food and continued to feed our community despite limited access to our building.
After restrictions were lifted, we soon realized that our foodbank space would no longer accommodate the number of people now using our program on a monthly basis. In 2022, thanks to a grant through Feed Ontario, we were able to expand our floor space to create the Community Market which operates on the in-person shopping model providing visitors with the dignity of choice in what they are eating. This welcoming and supportive new space has been a huge success and something we are very proud of.
Recently we made the heart-wrenching decision to return to premade hampers. Our Community Market can no longer accommodate the volume of people using this program while ensuring that monthly visits are maintained. Understandably, people are disappointed and so is the Agape Centre team. Rest assured that this is only a temporary step back and we are focused on finding a solution to return to in-person shopping in our beautiful Community Market. Thank you for your patience while we endeavor to return to a dignified service delivery model.
FEBRUARY STATISTICS
Community Market visits 312
Community Kitchen meals 1582
Individuals served 2872
New visitors 65
