Covid-19 Update, Sept. 9, 2020 

With the well-being of our staff as well as our clients in mind, the Centretown Emergency Food Centre has decided to limit its hours of operation to Mondays and Fridays, from 12:00 (noon) until 1:30 p.m.

Our food service has been relocated to the main floor of Centretown United Church. Clients access our program from the same entrance that they already use. The new location will reduce the number of clients congregating together in an enclosed area, and help avoid the spread of infection. 

In compliance with new provincial rules, all clients must now wear face masks when entering our service area. We are very grateful to clients who come with their own personal protection, but we have a small supply of disposable face masks to offer those without.

As well, we have switched to pre-packaged food to serve clients as best we can with our limited resources. Our staff are serving clients, and our volunteers are limited to working in the Pantry to prepare the bags of food and to minimize contact with others.

The Food Centre is very grateful to the Ottawa Food Bank for its strong support during this challenging time.  We also thank our churches and donors who have continued to send contributions, and for many other gestures of support, such as offers of cloth masks and garden produce.

The Food Centre, located at 507 Bank Street in the basement of Centretown United Church, serves clients four days a week. Our full-time Coordinator directs the operation of the Food Centre with the help of dedicated teams of volunteers who stock shelves and package food in the mornings and others who serve clients in the afternoon.

The Food Centre’s mandate is to serve those in need in the Centretown area bordered by Wellington Street on the north, Billings Bridge to the south, Lyon Street to the west and Main Street, including Lees Avenue, to the east. While the nature of our clientele has shifted over the years as the demographics of our catchment area have changed, demand for food from people living on social assistance, with disabilities and on low-income jobs has remained throughout the years and, in recent years, has started to grow again. In particular, the Centre now serves a higher number of children due to the recent increase in amount of subsidized housing available for families in Centretown.