By Jeff Helsdon
LJI Reporter
Tillsonburg is one step closer to another option for those who have food insecurity.
At the Feb. 10 meeting, town council heard a presentation from members of the Rotary Club and Tabatha Verbuyst, executive director of the Station Arts Centre. The Rotary Club is behind the proposal for a community pantry and is proposing to locate it behind the Station Arts Centre.
“It’s not intended to take the place of any of the existing food insecurity programs in place in town today,” said Rotary member Jason Weiler.
He said the Helping Hand Food Bank, Salvation Army, and groups running community tables run great programs.
“There are great sources of support, but this program is intended to provide some flexibility,” Weiler said. “There is some (flexibility) in existing programs, but there are gaps. I think a good illustration is something called working poor, where people may have obligations to be at work during particular times of the day and can’t get access to some of these services when they need them. This type of program is meant to provide that type of assistance.”
Rotarian Laura McFarland proposed the concept more than a year ago. Club members have researched how community pantries work elsewhere, talked to other organizers, and are now looking for approval of a location.
The club jumped on board because nearly 25 per cent of homes experience some sort of food insecurity. Weiler defined this as not having enough money to purchase food. Seven per cent of people have severe food insecurity, which is when a decision must be made to pay rent or skip meals. They also looked at the 35 per cent increase in the number of people using the food bank in 2023, and are waiting for 2024 numbers.
Weiler told council he is not looking for funding, but for endorsement of the location. He said the club and volunteers will look after the project.
Verbuyst said Rotary members approached her about the concept. They liked the idea the Station Arts Centre is near downtown, but not downtown, and has an existing concrete pad on which to build a four-foot by four-foot structure for the pantry.
“We work with a lot of families in the community and know there is a lot of food insecurity,” she said.
The Station Arts Centre is looking for approval for use of the exterior of the building, as per the approved motion from the Station Arts Centre board.
“We could build what we are looking for without touching the side of the building,” she said. “That is one of the big things because, obviously, it’s a historical building. There won’t be anything adhered to the building.”
Verbuyst did add they wanted to do something creative and fun for the pantryu design, since it’s part of the Station Arts Centre. She also said there have been discussions about security.
Coun. Kelly Spencer praised the initiative but said her only concern is the proximity to the nearby child care facility. She asked if the church has been approached about the concept.
“We intend to have conversations with the neighbours but to this point we haven’t,” Weiler said, explaining they didn’t want to jump the gun before council approval.
Deputy Mayor Dave Beres asked if there would be an expansion of services into clothing in the future. McFarland said that is not the intention, as the pantry won’t be staffed.
Coun. Chris Rosehart questioned the need for the pantry in town with the existing programs already in town.
“There isn’t an organization that isn’t out there,” she said. “Even after 9 or 10 o’clock at night, there is service to people.”
Responding to Rosehart’s question about how the program works, Weiler said there is an opportunity for individuals to make contributions. Donations won’t be made directly available but will be taken in, evaluated, and put out if the requirements of Southwestern Public Health are met.
Noting she is out there every night checking that people are okay, Rosehart said a lot of effort has been put into cleaning up the downtown.
“I just feel we have invited them back. We have a daycare right there,” she said.
Weiler said the focus is on people with food insecurity, not one segment of those dealing with food shortages, and he would hate to see service denied because of one group.
Answering Mayor Deb Gilvesy's question about whether the pantry will have 24-hour access, Weiler said that decision hasn’t been made yet. Saying she had seen community pantries inside, in a library, for instance, Gilvesy asked why the pantry would be outside.
McFarland answered that the pantries inside are typically town-funded. By being outside, she said it allows longer hours.
Addressing a question from the mayor if there are issues with vandalism at existing pantries, McFarland said, “Rarely, I talked to a lot of pantries going all across the country to B.C. Almost all of their feedback is positive. The one negative thing they had was trying to find volunteers and trying to find enough food because there’s so much food insecurity out there.”
Council passed a resolution supporting the community pantry and its proposed location at the Station Arts Centre, provided all town requirements are met.
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