Community kitchen not going away, says Trevisanutto

John Trevisanutto says if after one year a new community kitchen fails to change the life of one family, they’ll revisit the idea.

But they’re not going away, he added.

Trevisanutto was on hand Friday for a key turning ceremony that saw the Regional Food Distribution Association turn over the key to its former MacKenzie Street headquarters to officials from Our Kids Count.
 
The latter organization is taking over the building, a former Ukrainian Hall, to create a six-day-a-week community kitchen Trevisanutto said will provide the cooking, nutrition and healthy eating skills people in the often marginalized east-end neighbourhood can use to improve their day-to-day lives.

“It’s going to be open to anyone, any age, who wants to come in and have a facility to process their own food,” Trevisanutto said. “As well we will have access to food through RFDA programs. There’s a sense there’s a lot of people, who though they have the knowledge, they don’t have the facilities to cook their own food or store it.

“So we’re providing that. And we will also provide for community groups to come in and cook as a group. There’s a strong feeling that if we can get people back around the dinner table as a family, it’s going to be a good step forward for the community.”

To make it happen Our Kids Count has started a $350,000 campaign, backed by $75,000 in donations. This doesn’t include any in-kind product or services that have also been committed to the restoration of the facility, which will include a walk-in freezer and cooler.

They also learned they will be the beneficiaries of two of the city’s most well-known Christmastime parties, the Ischkinakker Shaker and Stu Fest, which have pledged to donate proceeds from their joint fundraiser in 2011.

Trevisanutto said a lot of the people the facility will serve aren’t where they’re at in life because they want to be in that position, but more so because of circumstances.

It’s only natural to want to help out, he said.

“They want to start their life again. They want their children to have a good life. This will be a place where they can come back to the roots of nutrition, healthy eating, being able to bring food home for their families.”

For the RFDA, who have moved into their new Syndicate Avenue warehouse, their old home couldn’t have gone to a better organization.

“I’m really happy this building is going to such a great cause,” said Kelly Hicks, the RFDA’s recently appointed chairwoman and president.