COVID-19 UPDATE (Sept 23, 2021)
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 have made a few adjustments to our services in light of the province’s new Covid policies. All staff and volunteers are now required to be fully vaccinated in order to work directly with the public. Although we strongly encourage all community members who are able to get vaccinated, we will not be requiring proof of vaccination in order to access services or programs. We will then continue to provide community meals for delivery only on Mondays from 5pm – 6pm, Wednesdays from 11:30am – 12:30pm, and Fridays 11:30am – 12:30pm through the lockdown as an essential food service. We would appreciate it if you would place your order by noon the day before so that Community Chefs Cole and Erin can prepare enough meals and for delivery routes to be planned.
Please send us your address (including your postal code), a contact number, and the number of meals you’d like for us to drop off to mealdelivery@thelocalcfc.org or leave us a phone message at 519-508-3663 ext 1001.
Our Community Access Market and Cafe will be open for in-person shopping on Fridays from 11:30am – 1pm. Lunch and coffee will also be available in our dining room. Again, we will not be checking vaccination status, but you will be required to sign in for contact tracing. Our produce box delivery service will still be available until further notice. You can order a box of nutritious produce delivered right to your door each week at https://shop.thelocalcfc.org/. We appreciate your patience as we try to deliver these essential food access programs as safely as possible.
The Advocacy Office is available for remote consultations with our Community Connector, Matthew, by appointment. If there are resources and services that may benefit you or your family, Matthew is very likely to know about them and can help you access them. Contact him at matthew@thelocalcfc.org or 519-508-3663 ext 1005.
The Community Garden at Dufferin Park is open to gardeners who have a plot and a few garden programs are currently in progress for small groups. Contact Lucas at lucas@thelocalcfc.org or 519-508-3663 ext 1002 for more information. All other kitchen, garden, and advocacy programs will be offered virtually or are on temporary hiatus 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!
FRIDAY MARKET & CAFE IS BACK, PRODUCE BOX DELIVERY SERVICE STILL AVAILABLE
Choose from two curated options and have your market produce delivered directly to your door each week. For those who want to choose their own, our Friday market will still be available from 11:30am – 1pm for in-person, onsite shopping with restricted access and Covid protocols in place, of course.
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.
