Alicia Mancini
Special Collaboration
When we think about a community, we think about its members. To serve a community is to serve its members; to find out what they need and find ways to make it available and accessible. When we think about helping and sustaining a community, one of the first priorities must be food security. At BGC Dawson, we take this to heart. Feeding our community and bringing people together to tackle hunger and food waste is very important to us.
So important that in 2018 we developed our Food and Sustainability program to tackle those concerns and more. Roxane Tisdall has been with Dawson for over eight years when she was asked to take on the role of coordinator for this new program. “With so many people coming in and out of our centre and participating in our programs we were eager to be able to provide nutritious and affordable options. Now we can provide healthy snacks for our day camp and afterschool children as well as affordable meals for our community,’’ says Roxanne. In 2019 when Mana Food Bank became a part of Dawson the challenge became bigger but so did the potential to make an impact.
No one expected what came next and just how big of an impact a food bank could make. When Covid-19 hit in March of 2020 BGC Dawson focused on making sure those hit hardest and those most vulnerable were fed. Our effort to get food out to the community became our focus. Providing food baskets to those unable to leave their homes became a priority. “I have an incredibly dedicated and passionate team of staff and volunteers. They have a drive to give back to the community.’’ explains Roxanne. Today Dawson continues to offer a weekly food bank, meals, and snacks for members in all programs, as well as a Mobile Market that serves fresh produce and prepared meals made by Chef Marc.
There is an African proverb that says, “The best place to store food is in your neighbor’s stomach’’. Nothing could be truer. Food security is a problem for too many. Access to a healthy, nutrient rich diet should not be a luxury. The contents of a child’s lunchbox should not dwindle because it’s the end of the month and a senior citizen should not have to choose between medication and food. We owe it to our neighbors and our community to make sure no one is hungry. We must challenge ourselves to become creative and innovative with how we look at food sustainability. Everybody fed. Nothing less.
