Break-in forces Right to Heal’s community kitchen to close

Non-profit Right to Heal in Peterborough, Ont., is reeling after its community kitchen suffered a break-in and damage overnight Monday.

Right to Heal on Tuesday announced that its Big Mamas Community Kitchen, located inside its building on 441 Rubidge Street (the former St. Andrew’s United Church), is closed until further notice following a break-in.

The organization says the kitchen was ransacked and a number of food items, drinks and other items were stolen.

Right to Heal provides addiction treatment outpatient services in Peterborough. Partnering with Whitepath Consultation, the organization uses the Redpath program which relies on psychology-based methods to identify reasons for substance abuse and also offers services for individuals to reintegrate back into the community.

Right to Heal dubs the community kitchen as a “place of gathering to nourish the mind, body and soul” and offers via online orders an array of meals for weekly pickup and delivery. Catering services are also available.

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All funds from the kitchen, which opened in January, support Right to Heal’s wellness hub.

“This is truly devastating for us as this food is essential for feeding those in our programming,” reads a statement on the kitchen’s social media sites.

“We are working diligently to recoup and recover from this. We ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.”

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Right to Heal recently completed an 18-month pilot community treatment project called “Moving Beyond Addiction. The project received over $367,000 in provincial support in the spring of 2022 and launched in fall of the same year.

Global News has reached out to Peggy Shaughnessy, founder and president of Whitepath Consulting who developed the Redpath approach, for more details.

“Big Mama’s Kitchen will be closed for today, but we are determined to bounce back stronger than ever,” a post states. “We want to thank our incredible community for your ongoing support and love. Your kindness and generosity continue to inspire us every day. Together, we will overcome this setback and continue to serve those who rely on us.”

— More to come