COVID-19 UPDATE (March 24, 2020)
The Local Community Food Centre would like to reassure all of our community members and volunteers that their health and safety remain our primary concern. We are making a few temporary changes to the programming to mitigate the risk that staff, volunteers, and program participants have to virus exposure while recognising that the most vulnerable in our community who face food insecurity, domestic violence, and housing challenges are at increased levels of risk right now and need the support of our community more than ever.
At this time, The Local remains open and will continue to provide community meals for take-away only on Mondays from 5pm – 6pm, for delivery only Wednesdays from 11:30am – 12:30pm, and for take-away only Fridays 11:30am – 12:30pm.
Our Community Access Market will be open Mondays from 5pm – 6pm and Fridays from 11:30am – 12:30pm with limited physical access to the public in order to minimize risk of food contamination and virus transfer. We appreciate your patience as we try to deliver these essential food access programs as safely as possible.
All other kitchen, garden, and advocacy programs will be taking a temporary pause until further notice.
Any further facility closures or program cancellations will be communicated to the public as soon as possible. As always, we remain grateful for your support as we continue to pursue a vision of our community in which good food is truly accessible to all!
More than good food
The Local Community Food Centre in Stratford, Ontario, empowers those with barriers to accessing and benefiting from good healthy food by offering opportunities to cook, grow, share, and advocate for good food for everyone in our community. We approach the problems of poverty and food insecurity as justice issues rather than acts of charity, knowing that access to good food is central to health and should be treated as a basic right. Our programs empower people to advocate for themselves and assists them in building kitchen and gardening skills that help alleviate their food insecurity in a dignified and non-stigmatizing way. While our emphasis is on empowering our low-income neighbours, we welcome the whole community to access our services and programs to promote connectedness and enhance belonging as we work together to build a stronger, more resilient community for us all.