Watch above: A donation from Cameco has afforded the development of The Lighthouse community kitchen. As Aaron Streck reports, hot meals will help fill a void in the downtown.
SASKATOON – Food is the key ingredient that gets us through the day. Unfortunately, for many reasons, meals aren’t always an option for some.
“We really see in the community when rents go up a lot of people take money out of their food budget in order to pay their bills and so money becomes very tight for folks and there’s not enough to go around,” said DeeAnn Mercier, communications director with The Lighthouse.
Several community services have been helping feed individuals for years. On Monday, the ribbon was cut on another kitchen looking to meet the high demand.
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Cameco Community Kitchen, located at The Lighthouse, will be open Monday and Friday evenings.
“We know the need is there and it happens to be the holiday, Christmas time of year, that had nothing to do with it, that need is there all year round so we decided this was a good fit for our company,” said Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel.
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“What this donation from Cameco has allowed us to do is to refurbish this kitchen so it’s up-to-date, but they’re also providing staffing to be able to cook the meals,” said Mercier. “They’re bringing the food, they’re serving the meals and I’m really excited they get to know the people that their donation is going to impact.”
It didn’t take long; volunteers were busy chopping vegetables Monday to prepare chili for the first 90 guests.
“The demand unfortunately outstrips the supply as is so often the case, this won’t solve all of the issues but it’ll help,” said Gitzel.
The kitchen will now serve meals to the wider community and allow The Lighthouse to reach out and offer cooking lessons in the new year.
While Cameco helped foot the bill on the kitchen and will staff it most times, the hope is more community volunteers will step up. Volunteers can contact The Lighthouse for more information.
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