New food bank to officially open in Huntsville

As food insecurity increases in the community, volunteers have gathered to start a new community hub and food bank in town.

Lynne Doyle is the general manager of the Corner Lighthouse, located downstairs at Trinity United Church at 33 Main Street East in Huntsville.

Doyle said Trinity United Church has provided the space free of charge. “We need money for food from donors, but we have no salaries to pay, and everybody is a volunteer.” She said many of the volunteers have already worked at other food banks, “and all told, we have about 140 years of food bank experience.”

She said at least 83 cents of every dollar donated will address food insecurity in the community. The remainder will go to insurance, and any money left over will go to the church for rent.

Bullock’s Your Independent Grocer, many volunteers, and community businesses form part of the Bay Food Crew and are supporting the initiative. Doyle said the food bank will initially support 100 clients while they determine their costs.

She said clients will be able to use the food bank once per month by appointment so they will not have to line up outside every week. “It’s the dignity that we’re going to instill in people. It’s so demoralizing to have to wait in a food bank lineup outside in the cold… here what you’ll do, because you come by appointment and we only take about 20 appointments per day, you’ll have maybe a two-minute wait, you’ll come in and you’ll take enough food for the month. You’ll take home the whole bag of sugar. You’ll take home the whole bag of dog food; you won’t take just a portion. And we won’t have a make-work project going on in here where we break down a bag of dog food into five bags, it’s not going to happen that way,” said Doyle.

The hub will include help navigating other services available for those in need. She said the Corner Lighthouse has applied for its charitable status and expects to have it in place by the end of the year.

Asked whether clients will be income tested, Doyle replied: “We’re not the food police. You wouldn’t be here unless you had to be and even if you are husband and wife working two jobs they could be basic wage jobs and you still can’t afford the rent and food, it’s one or the other, right.”

Doyle said the food bank will operate on a points system and by membership and is expected to hold its official inauguration in April.

“Huntsville has obviously grown and there’s a big need for more food banks and the existing ones are great but it’s maybe getting more days to people, more food available on different days. So it’s really awesome that more people are stepping up for another food bank,” said Darcy Bullock of Bullock’s Your Independent Grocer. “We’re a part of the Bay Food Crew, and we believe that everyone should have a meal, so the Bay Food Crew really goes and tries to get food on people’s table.”

Johnbosco is grateful for the help.

He is a 37 year old refugee from Uganda. He was a chef back home and said he was beaten, persecuted and ostracized by his government and even thrown in jail for opposing a regime that has been in power for more than 35 years. He came to Canada a year ago and has been trying to land on his feet. He’s been given temporary work in places like Hamilton and Toronto and has had to sometimes sleep on the street while waiting for a bed in a shelter because he could not afford rent.

Johnbosco is very grateful for the protection Canada has given him but being a refugee is no walk in the park either. Services to help refugees adjust are not always available, and without family or friends to lean on, navigating your new life on your own can be a sad and lonely experience.

He said Doyle is one of the kindest persons he has met. Finding a place to live became very difficult when he found himself without housing because the temporary work contract he came to Huntsville for, which included housing, was about to expire.

Johnbosco and Doyle outside of the Corner Lighthouse during a food delivery

During that interim period, he said the District was not able to help. He was offered a bus trip to Barrie or North Bay while Doyle provided emergency shelter for him by paying for a hotel room. He has since been able to secure work, which includes accommodation, and he’s had to use food banks to help make ends meet.

“This lady, she didn’t know me. She doesn’t know where I am from. Of course, I am totally different. I am black, I am from Africa, and I am new here, but this lady picked me up on the street. She took me as her own son. She rented a room for me, but I could not afford a room. I was there for three days, and after three days, she added four more days, then, after one week, that’s when I got accommodation at the Table,” explained Johnbosco. He said that during that time, he applied for many jobs until he eventually got a job as a line cook at Deerhurst Resort.

He said many Canadians do not understand what it is like not to be able to speak out for fear of being incarcerated or worse. He also spoke of the dignity of being able to work hard and have things many take for granted such as electricity and access to education and health care.

Johnbosco, and his three daughters, 8, 4, and 10 years old.

While Johnbosco’s wife has remarried, he said he would like his daughters and his mother to experience the peaceful lifestyle many take for granted here. He said reuniting with his family is a lengthy process and wishes the Canadian government could make it easier.

He hopes Huntsville will get a shelter to help those who, like him, find themselves without a roof over their heads.

Johnbosco reiterated that he is grateful for the protection of the Canadian government and hopes to give back to the community that has helped him. One day, he said he would also like to return to Uganda to help people, particularly children, with medicine and education so they too can see there is a different way of life.

You can reach the Corner Lighthouse by emailing [email protected] or by calling or texting 705-380-1800.

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