Carbonear food bank’s travelling meal program means the ‘Kettle’s On’ in more places
By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Some of the changes made by Carbonear’s Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Food Bank during the Covid pandemic turned out to be worth keeping.
One of them was the way the group conducts its Kettle’s On: Community Meals program.
The program started in 2017, but the forced social isolation caused by the pandemic starting in 2020 meant the food bank’s organizers had to come up with a more flexible way of offering it.
The meals are usually made available once a month and are open to anyone in the community at no cost.
“Typically, our staff starts planning and we pick a location, and we reach out and figure out how the meals are going to be prepared,” said Kaitlin Clarke, the food bank’s communications and outreach coordinator. “Sometimes we partner with other organizations, sometimes we have people come in from the community, other times we get it catered. It just kind of depends on what we’re doing. And then we have a group of volunteers that come in and help with setup, and a group of volunteers that come in and help serve the meal.”
Recently the food bank has begun allowing people from other groups, organizations, and businesses to volunteer as servers at the community meals. Clarke said it is a great method of team building.
“After Covid we decided to move the meal around Carbonear a little bit,” said Clarke. “So we try to go to different locations each time. Sometimes it might be the same location a couple of times in a row, but usually we do try to move it around a little bit just so we can get different people in the community and stuff.”
One benefit of holding the meals within walking distance of different locations is that it sometimes brings in different faces.
Each meal is usually different from the one before.
“We don’t announce our meal ahead of time,” said Clarke. “It’s kind of a surprise for when people come in.”
Unless it is having the event catered, the food bank organizers usually leave the menu to the discretion of whoever is cooking.
Clarke said one of the reasons for starting the Kettle’s On: Community Meals program is that, statistically, only one in four people who need the food bank will actually access it.
“The meal has become a way for us to reach those people who maybe need help and aren’t asking for it,” Clarke said. “It kind of just helps to destigmatize food banks and what we do. It’s a good way for people to get familiar with our staff and volunteers and find out what other stuff we do and just get more comfortable with us in case they do need to reach out and ask for help.”
The program provides nutritious meals at no cost to people who might not have regular access to them. It offers home-cooked meals to individuals who may not have the means or ability to cook for themselves, such as those who do not have access to a stove, those who have lost a family member who used to cook for them, or those who have little cooking experience.
“It’s a way for us to also reach out to people who might no longer have a reason to cook such as empty-nesters, or they’ve lost a spouse or partner,” said Clarke.
And that’s another benefit of the program, Clarke explained. It provides a welcoming social environment where people can connect and share a meal.
“It’s just a great way to learn about other things that are happening in the community and what other resources are available, as well,” Clarke said. “You don’t have to be a food bank client or anything,” said Clarke. “Everybody is welcome.”
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul prepares enough food to feed roughly two hundred people at each meal, which is the number they typically get. “We want it to be open to everyone regardless of their background or circumstance,” said Clarke. “There’s no requirement to attend. You don’t need to pay any kind of admission. So we just really try to foster a welcoming environment where no one feels left out and that there’s a sense of belonging, that’s a huge part of it.”