A $25,000 grant for the Victoria Foundation has helped Coastline Church boost its efforts to provide food to people in need, including a program that sees church members working at a farm to grow produce to be given away.
The money has had a three-fold benefit — supporting the church’s work on the farm, helping with weekly pop-up “mini markets” to distribute food, and spurring the creation of a community kitchen, said church outreach co-ordinator Bridget Sterling.
The pop-ups take place at different sites, including the church’s Caledonia Avenue location, the Cridge Centre for the family, Quadra Village and spots in downtown Victoria and in Langford near Costco.
Church members volunteer to have the pop-ups on their property, and set them up in co-ordination with the Victoria Food Share Network, Sterling said.
“There’s fresh food there, there’s canned food, bread,” she said.
Church members regularly donate food to stock the mini markets.
Sterling said the community kitchen is a pilot project for the entire community, and is focused on people who might have not done a lot of cooking or have lost their cooking skills.
Being able to cook for yourself and prepare healthy meals can be a huge cost saver, and save the expense of ordering food in, Sterling said.
Word of the community kitchen has been steadily getting around, she said. “Some people who signed up for the community kitchen found out about it through the mini markets.”
Sterling said posts on social media are also helping.
The Central Saanich farm the church is linked to is a steady food source from around March to November, she said, and people in the community keep track of what is available.
“We get farm-fresh, chemical-free vegetables,” Sterling said. “The word gets out when things are in harvest.”
Along with donating food and hosting the mini markets, church members also give their time to work the farm, she said.
“It’s all run 100 per cent by volunteers,” she said. “People go out and weed, they bring their kids — it’s really fun.”
The connection to the farm started through the Young Agrarians program, which involves farmers and others working with people interested in agriculture.
Sterling said the church was matched with a local farmer, who has been charging only $50 a year in rent.
“So he has a really big heart,” she said. “The farmer has always been a contributor to the Mustard Seed and other things.”
She said she hopes the impact of the farm produce will continue to develop.
“My dream is that we can actually start being able to have people using the farm-fresh ingredients to actually make really beautiful meals for their family,” she said.
All of the work being done to bring food to people is fitting together well, Sterling said.
While the community kitchen is just getting started, the mini markets have been running for five years and the association with the farm has been in effect for two years, she said.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do it the way that we have without the Victoria Foundation,” she said. “They’ve been incredible.”
