New Dawn Meals on Wheels receives $20,000 grant for emergency food aid in the wake of COVID-19

In April, New Dawn Meals on Wheels received a grant from Community Food Centres Canada’s Good Food Access Fund.

The grant has helped provide 1,187 nutritious meals to New Dawn Meals on Wheels clients free of charge throughout the month of May. Additionally, the funding enabled A Better Bite Community Kitchen to prepare 210 meals for the Community Homeless Shelter.

Funding is provided in part by the Government of Canada’s “Local Food Infrastructure Fund”, as part of the Food Policy for Canada. The Fund aims to strengthen food systems and facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for at-risk populations.

“Covid-19 has amplified food insecurity here in Cape Breton – many more people are now struggling to provide good food for themselves,” says Kathleen Whelan, Coordinator, New Dawn Meals on Wheels. “Being able to provide free healthy meals for the month of May with the Good Food Access Fund grant allowed our New Dawn Meals on Wheels clients to focus on remaining healthy and safe during these uncertain times.”

“Food insecurity was already an urgent problem before the COVID-19 crisis, with 1 in 8 Canadians struggling to put food on the table,” says Nick Saul, CEO of Community Food Centres Canada. “In a time of national crisis, it is in our nature as Canadians to do what we can for our most vulnerable neighbours. We are grateful to the Government of Canada for their quick response, as well as the many corporate partners and generous donors who have stepped forward.”

“The Good Food Access Fund aims to make sure that as many people as possible will be able to get the food that they need,” says Saul. “And while we must deal with the current circumstances, CFCC remains committed to advancing policy change that addresses the underlying causes of food insecurity and poverty in Canada. We can’t forget that structural inequity is at the core of so many of the challenges that Canadians face, a fact which painfully confronts us when an emergency like this occurs.”

Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC) builds health, belonging, and social justice in low-income communities through the power of food. We work with 13 Community Food Centres and 183 Good Food Organizations in 175 communities across Canada. Our Good Food Access Fund was established to provide emergency relief during this time of national crisis to our most vulnerable neighbours.

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