The Grind Pembroke Community Kitchen opens its doors for ‘Feed the Need’ Fundraiser
The Grind Pembroke has seen the number of people attending their community kitchen and using their services more than triple over the past few months.
They used to welcome about 50 people to their soup kitchen, but that number now fluctuates between 100 and 140 every time they open their doors. Since the pandemic began, many people have seen their hours cut or lost their jobs altogether. Some didn’t qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and some simply couldn't afford to live on that amount.
"People that were just getting by before have now sunk and (fallen) between the cracks," said Tanner Barnes, the Grind's Health and Safety representative.
To inform the community about The Grind’s services and programs and raise some money, the organization hosted a "Feed the Need" fundraising event on Dec. 14.
"It lets people see what we do on a daily basis to help our most vulnerable members of the population," said Bonnie Wells, administrator at the Grind.
COVID-19 has had a definite impact and will have a ripple effect on the community even when things return to relative normalcy.
"It is not going to stop just because we get injections," said Wells, noting the need will only grow and supporting The Grind will become even more critical.
The Grind originally operated as a pay-as-you-can coffee shop where vulnerable people could learn about programs to assist them in a non-judgmental atmosphere. But it has grown into much more than that, even in the current environment. It is a soup kitchen and provider of food boxes; a three-bed homeless shelter; a hub for activity and faith offering transitional services. It gives people cold weather gear to survive the streets, and connects people to social services in the community - the list goes on.
"It is important for the community to understand just what we are doing here because I feel that some people don't know that," said Barnes. "We'll be able to help our vulnerable community even more if we get that support.”
They didn't have a financial goal in mind for the fundraiser. Rather, their goal was to educate as many people as possible.
"We are so much more than a coffee shop," said Wells. "We give a hand up to our vulnerable community.
"We are an arm, we are an advocate for them so we can get to them to resources that they need to be with," she added.
