New community garden and gourmet kitchen for WoodGreen tenants
A brand new, custom-built community kitchen opened this year at WoodGreen’s 55 Pape Avenue housing location, and will help facilitate the many food programs WoodGreen offers at our housing sites.
Thanks to a generous donation from ARAMARK Canada, this new kitchen will serve as an important community hub that facilitates neighbours coming together to enjoy wholesome, nutritious meals prepared with ingredients they’ve cultivated using the community garden on the roof of the building.
"We know that food security is a huge concern for tenants living in WoodGreen’s affordable housing locations," said Angela Cooke, Vice President of Housing and Community Supports. "Many of WoodGreen’s tenants are living on extremely low incomes, and often need to decide between healthy but more expensive food and covering basic expenses."
WoodGreen staff will host community meals in the new space, including pancake breakfasts and summer barbeques. There will also be community lunches and dinners planned and prepared by building residents as well as holiday dinners at Christmas, Thanksgiving and Chinese New Year. WoodGreen is planning to work with Toronto-based culinary schools to run healthy cooking-on-a-budget workshops for clients.
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ARAMARK staff members volunteered to revitalize
the community garden
Kitchen reno valued at
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donated by ARAMARK
building tenants at WoodGreen’s Pape/Renwick location will be able to eat healthy meals together as a result of the new kitchen
ARAMARK Canada is a food service agency that had previously participated in corporate volunteer events at WoodGreen. Rooftop gardens across our housing locations had always been a priority for WoodGreen but the projects had been cost prohibitive. In 2013, ARAMARK stepped in to renovate and revitalize the rooftop garden so residents could grow their own food. ARAMARK's staff volunteered their time to build benches, planter boxes and to paint and beautify the rooftop patio and community garden at 55 Pape.
Tenants now maintain that garden. They plant and grow their own tomatoes, onions, leeks, spinach, rhubarb, beets and much more. This fresh, healthy and otherwise expensive food will be used in the community meals prepared in the new kitchen.
"When we beautify these spaces, it encourages residents to come to the community events and to feel welcome and proud in their homes and communities. We certainly couldn’t have done this amazing work without the generosity of ARAMARK. Countless residents will be eating healthy foods, together as a community more often thanks to the generous donation," Angela said.