MOOSE JAW - Burgers sizzled on the barbecue on a recent sunny Friday afternoon as volunteers with the outreach group Community Connection prepared supper for less fortunate residents in Moose Jaw.
Normally, these residents would be at Riverside Mission, but the charity’s permanent closure forced them to look elsewhere for daily lunches and suppers. Luckily, several groups quickly came together to offer meals, naming the new initiative “Love in Action Meal Offerings.”
Standing in the parking lot beside St. Aidan Anglican Church, Walter Vanderlee waited for his supper as Community Connection members cooked burgers, sliced pickles, and laid out chips, pasta salads and condiments.
Vanderlee said Riverside Mission’s closure saddened him but was “very pleased” when local charities — such as Square One Community Inc., Community Connection, John Howard Society, St. Aidan, and other churches — banded together to plan meals.
“They can keep us out of the Mission, but they can’t keep the mission out of me,” Vanderlee chuckled. “We have picked up from (the closure). So that is the most fun part, that the community came together. So, we will keep going, and we will succeed.”
The food that volunteers have been cooking during the past two weeks has been “marvellous,” he added.
Ken Green, who also used Riverside Mission regularly, was digging into his burger when he spoke about the situation.
He said he was “pissed off” when the non-profit organization closed since he appreciated the free food. However, the new program has been a good solution, while the format is OK — even though he had to stand to eat instead of sitting at a table.
“Everything’s good,” Green added, smiling between bites of his burger.
Crystal Harvey with Community Connection said the challenge the food program faces is it’s not always in a central location, so hungry people must walk to wherever the meals are being distributed. However, she has appreciated that residents give back and support the cause.
Harvey added that the program needs volunteers who can give three hours to prepare and cook food and clean up.
Rachel Mullens, the former chef, manager and director of emergency services at Riverside Mission, is one of the program co-leaders and creates the menus, gathers the food and ensures the volunteers can prepare it.
Mullens said she offered to help Mission clients after the charity temporarily closed in August to fumigate for cockroaches. However, once it permanently closed, she called Square One’s Della Ferguson and said they needed to address the situation.
“When I heard about it, I thought, ‘Well, I have time, and this is where I feel I can give my time and my expertise to,’” she said.
Love in Action Meal Offerings is a temporary name because there is no permanent solution yet to this issue, while the collective group is “winging it,” Mullens continued.
Organizers are asking the community for everything — kitchen space, cooking utilities, volunteers, and donations — while they have been using St. Aidan, First Baptist and Hillcrest Apostolic Church to distribute lunches and suppers, whether bagged or sit-down meals.
The long-term goal, she added, is to find a permanent location for food and programming.
Organizers and volunteers have been busy over the past two weeks, although it has gone well and the community has rallied in support, said Mullens. After Riverside Mission closed permanently on Aug. 23, Square One’s Ferguson organized a meeting on Aug. 25 that attracted more than 30 people, which was an amazing turnout.
Mullens pointed out that Riverside Mission offered residents not just food but a place to build community, which is why having a permanent location where people can sit, eat and socialize is important. Moreover, some clients — who could make their own meals — used the charity’s services because they were lonely and wanted companionship.
Mullens added that with winter coming, finding a permanent location — she knows one is out there — to serve hot meals becomes more important.
