Food safety concerns stops efforts to feed the Sudbury homeless

A Sudbury charitable organization that has been providing hot meals to the homeless for the past year and a half has been shut down by Public Health Sudbury and Districts.

The problem is the food was not being prepared in approved or inspected kitchens.

Now, the group is looking for the proper space to continue helping.

Chantelle Dupuis started Bizzzy Bea's in December 2020. The volunteer group, a registered non-profit, has cooked and distributed over 14,000 hot meals to people in the Sudbury area with no place to call home.

"Unfortunately, we were under the assumption that cooking from home -- as long as it was giving and not selling -- was okay. And we have been doing this for approximately 18 months," Dupuis said.

"All my cooks have their food handlers (certification). We have two that have graduated actually with a chef degree."

This week, the group was shut down by public health.

"What I can say is that they are currently unapproved and not subject to inspections," said Jon Groulx, the health protection division manager of Public Health Sudbury & Districts.

"All food services like that, where you are providing food to the public, even not-for-profit, to our vulnerable members of our public, are subject to the food premise regulation under the health protection and promotion act."

Health officials said the act is to reduce the incidents of food borne illness.

"We feel very strongly that the general public, including our most vulnerable, deserve to know that the food they are being provided -- whether it be from a licensed caterer or non-for-profit -- is being prepared in a facility that is inspected and is subject to routine random inspections," Groulx said.

Now, volunteers with Bizzzy Bea's are looking for a new space and are hopeful to be back up and cooking soon.

"We are so excited. So we are just taking this as a learning opportunity to get bigger and better. We are more than excited to find that certified kitchen where we are going to be continuing these meals," Dupuis said.

The health unit said it offers safe food handler training to non-profit organizations free of charge. Officials said food safety is important to protect the health of everyone.