The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation (TTSKF), a Christian registered charity dedicated to serving the hungry, hurting, and homeless, happily announces its transformative expansion in Huntsville.
As of July 1, 2025, the former Freshco plaza will now be known as The Table Plaza. TTSKF’s Food Bank, Food Rescue, Exchange Store, and office will relocate to the new facility as soon as the renovations are complete. The plaza will offer additional community services, including a warming and cooling centre, a café, an art gallery and hub, an emporium, hydroponics, and a prayer ministry. TTSKF’s current location at 9, 11, and 13 Hanes St. will continue to operate the Men’s Hostel and Community Kitchen, with plans to convert 9 Hanes St. to dorm-style affordable housing.
Guided by Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat”, The Table has served Huntsville for almost two decades since their first Soup Kitchen meal was offered in 2006. In 2024, they served 8.6% of Huntsville’s population of 21,147 at their Food Bank, which accounted for 74% of their guests. The remaining 26% of guests came from 38 surrounding communities. Rising rates of homelessness, food insecurity, mental health, and addictions, coupled with the lack of a warming and cooling centre, demand bold action.
The Table Plaza presents a unique opportunity to create a meaningful gathering place. It aims to address specific needs with innovative services, such as pet kennels to keep individuals who are homeless and their pets together. It seeks to provide centralized access to essential services and foster a welcoming space for everyone—guests, volunteers, and donors alike—helping to revitalize Huntsville’s downtown core.
The Table’s Founder and Executive Director, Heather Cassie, explains, “While moving forward with these necessary services in our community, The Table Plaza movement is embracing obedience to a Vision Plan given by God over a year ago and has been supported by TTSKF’s Board of Directors. TTSKF President Brian Rasmussen has been instrumental in assisting me in pursuing this plan, and we have seen the Lord do amazing things to bring us to this point! We are excited to see revival as we bring the Church and our community together in service in the name of Jesus Christ. We extend our gratitude for the remarkable support and collaborations with Rob Dyet, Sobeys Inc., our landlords, Sarjit Uppal and his business partners, Duncan Ross Architect, as well as the backing from our Table Family. This is an incredible calling from God that we have been blessed to be given and are putting into action.”
In the coming months, leasehold improvements will be carried out under the supervision of Randy Blain Construction, serving as Project Manager. Anyone interested, including construction firms, building supply stores, and skilled individuals and professionals, is encouraged to reach out to Randy Blain at 705-788-1054 or by email at [email protected] if you wish to contribute to this remarkable community initiative.
Financial donations to The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation can be made on our website at thetablefoundation.ca or by contacting the Foundation directly at 705-783-5827. Your generous support will help us make The Table Plaza a reality, addressing the needs of many in our community.
There will be an increased need for volunteers as we move forward. Members of our community can learn more on our website and complete our Volunteer Application to assist us as we work diligently to bring this exciting plan to fruition.
While some services will commence this fall, other ministries are scheduled to be introduced gradually as the project develops. To learn more, please visit our website at thetablefoundation.ca, connect with us on our social media platforms, or visit us at 9 Hanes St. All are welcome!
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What is with all the gaslighting? I think people are allowed to be concerned about what is happening in our town and it doesn’t make anyone a bad person. God forbid parents want to keep parks safe for kids and people who own businesses downtown don’t want to deal with more drugs and crime. I don’t want our small town to become North Bay and think thats fair to say.
After reading the article about Heather Cassie’s wonderful initiative to expand and move The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation to the old Freshco; I am a little perplexed about the comments that I’ve read.
She has CORPORATE sponsorship as well as the good compassionate support of many local people. I am fed up with people of the adage ‘not in my backyard ‘. This is fear based rhetoric born of ignorance. My question to those of you with this mindset is; what would you propose?
It’s wonderful that a person from our community felt God’s calling and has been working tirelessly for the disenfranchised, marginalized and vulnerable people IN OUR COMMUNITY facing housing and food insecurity to provide respite and a sense of belonging. This is Maslow’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd law in the BASIC hierarchy of needs.
Kudos to Randy Blain, Ryan Rasmussen and
Duncan Ross for joining in support of Heather’s ongoing mission .
I find it very sad that many people here in our town, cannot envision the upside of this initiative. Providing vulnerable people with a sense of belonging can change lives by increasing self-esteem and giving them the belief that they really matter! Nobody chooses to be homeless. Circumstance, illness, loss of work and lack of family support are often the catalyst that find people in this unfortunate situation.
Perhaps instead of negative forecasting, think compassionately about what you can do to help this initiative succeed.
As Jean Vanier said “Community is not the ideal. It is you and I. In community we are called to love people just as they are, with their wounds and their gifts, not as we want them to be.”
Jean Vanier (1992) From Brokenessto Community. Paulist Press
This isn’t a criticism of the table or anyone who runs it. The Table does a great job running the food bank and providing meals and building a sense of community and I hope they continue to do so. Expanding residential shelter capacity is a completely different type of initiative that requires a complex range of services – none of which are available here. People living with mental health and addiction need (and deserve) services beyond hot lunches and prayer, regardless of what city they live in.
MaryAnn Vanhellemond, you may have 20 years experience in toronto, which surely makes you more qualified than most to comment here.
But do you know what I’d trust more than 20 years experience down in toronto? How about 20 years experience working right here in huntsville with the exact population we have here?
Cause that’s what Heather and her team have. They know this community and its needy people much better than you, and I’m sure this new plan comes out of all their experience with them and is based on their first hand knowledge of what this community needs and what will work with them. That’s what real local leadership means.
You can have toronto, I’l take local leadership that we can trust in this community here.
Ryan Wettlaufer. I don’t believe that raising valid concerns about Huntsville’s inability to deliver the services required to support an increase in shelter population makes anyone a “naysaying nimby”. Especially when the increase in crime, and the burden on emergency services will disproportionally impact the most vulnerable members of our community.
I worked as a community mental health nurse and crisis counsellor with the homeless in Toronto for 20+ years – delivering the supports that don’t exist here. I will always be an advocate for the homeless – but that doesn’t mean I support poor planning. If you aren’t aware of the negative impact that this will have on an ill-equipped and unprepared small town then you are naive.
Some commenters here should be ashamed of themselves, if they had any shame.
They are conjuring up concerns about how this will supposedly cause all these problems.
Heather Cassie has been serving the poor of huntsville for over 20 years and has a proven track record of doing good, not causing problems.
Compare that to these naysaying nimbies in the comment section: what have they done for the poor? What good have they brought to huntsville? What’s their track record?
If these commenters have a better solution, then they should step away from their computer and go out and actually do something good, like Heather Cassie has done. Otherwise, they should stop with their prattling on.
I would have to say that as I am sure this all sounds wonderful it’s actually very reckless . To think that our small town has the resources to sustain these “shelter/dorms” is not realistic . My concern is what will this do to our down town ? Do we have enough resources to fund this and have ongoing support ? A food bank is a great idea but we really need to do some research before moving forward with locating a shelter in our down town . I definitely have my reservations about bringing those with mental illness ,and drug and alcohol additions to a downtown location with out resource or support just seems like a ticking time bomb , our first responder are overwhelmed as it is .
Very valid concerns raised about Huntsville’s inability to support an increase in shelter beds. I expect there will be strong opposition by the town to any shelter expansion and for very good reason.
There was a very good article in the Globe and mail this week – for all those who are local to Huntsville and unfamiliar with the downside to these initiatives . Worth a read.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-how-fentanyl-ravaged-victorias-pandora-avenue/
Heather Cassie is an amazing person. Helping those in need by living your faith. Keep up doing your good works .
Greg Wells, well stated.
The yearly building rental fees will be gigantic. Where is this coming from?
It’s badly needed, but maybe to big to fast?
Wish them best of luck.
I find this news quite amazing! Such a huge building and it appears Heather and her team have extremely wide ranging plans over time for it. Heather is the perfect person to head this up as she has been actively helping the less fortunate and those experiencing temporary hard times since 2006. I am not a church type person, I tend to judge people by the trail they leave – ie: are people and the world in general better off because of their actions? In Heather’s case it would certainly seem so. There is some wow factor here. It will be extremely interesting watching this project evolve over the next few years!
While I think everyone in Huntsville can agree that we need more “affordable housing”, “open dorm-style” housing indicates more shelter beds rather than real affordable living solutions for our seniors, lower income families, people with disabilities etc. Increasing shelter capacity in a small town with extremely limited emergency services and social supports would be reckless and irresponsible given the strain that these systems are currently under. Our emergency department and paramedics are overburdened as is. We have no emergency mental health supports, no mobile crisis unit. Our police force is not equipped or funded to handle the increase in crime that this will bring. A larger residential shelter would require trained social workers to staff it 24/7 rather than the volunteers that help facilitate the soup kitchen. Who pays their salaries? The clientele who use emergency shelter services often have complex medical/mental health and addiction issues – that is why they typically exist in larger cities that have the services to adequately support them. Huntsville doesn’t even have a walk in clinic. Before celebrating or approving of this (well meaning) initiative take a look at other small communities like Oshawa, Lindsay, or Peterborough where shelter bed capacity expanded or encampments were allowed where supports didn’t exist. The downtown areas became visibly overwhelmed by crime and drug use, businesses suffered, public spaces became unsafe for children women and seniors and the criminal activity just attracted more serious/violent crime from other larger cities. There are a lot of services beyond what is being proposed for the Table plaza that are needed in order to support increased shelter capacity in a responsible way.
I wonder if the table soup kitchen can also sell food and produce to those who maybe do not need assistance but those like myself who do not have a car. I really have missed being able to buy groceries in town. Instead of walking to shop, it involves taking a cab which is 12.00 plus tip each way to a box store. It really adds up.
Once a week – 100.00 a month adding to the already sharing g costs of everything.
That is incredibly good news! There has, unfortunately, never been more need for your service. I really appreciate how The Table is able to pivot and adapt faster than government. Congratulations to Heather and The Table board (and kudos to Randy Blain!) for creating hope as well as help. We could all use more of this kind of good news!