Skip to main content

New Indigenous hub offering land-based cultural learning

Share

The new Indigenous hub at Victory Park on Frood Road in the Donovan area of Greater Sudbury was officially named at a ceremony on Thursday.

"Indigenous EarlyON, which is now going to be named Wiingashk-gamig sweetgrass building, is going to provide many services for the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population as well. So we offer a lot of land-based cultural learning," said Desneige Taylor, the Indigenous-led program coordinator at Better Beginnings Better Futures in Sudbury.

The city donated a vacant building at the park to the organization to use for the centre.

"There is a lot of Indigenous families that live here, this is where families, neighbourhood kids come to play already, so being able to connect them with the hub, the hub connects them with all the Better Beginnings Better Future's different services," said city councillor Geoff McCausland.

At the event, children were given free market bucks to purchase fresh produce from the Good Food Market, another program offered by Better Beginnings to address food insecurity.

Fresh produce is sold to increase access through Better Beginnings Better Futures Sudbury's Good Food Market. Aug. 11/22 (Alana Everson/CTV Northern Ontario)

"We really want to increase consumption and give people better access to fruits and vegetables. That increases their overall health, it's great for them," said Angele Young, the regional manager of student nutritional programs at Better Beginnings Better Futures.

"And the prices that we have are very competitive, which helps them around affordability."

The program sells produce at wholesale prices to improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables all year round.

"We also run 12 markets a week hitting outlying communities that do not have access to grocery stores within their communities. And we set up for about an hour and half at each community," said Jenn Savard, the food and logistics co-ordinator Better Beginnings Better Futures.

Better Beginnings Better Futures has been helping families for over 50 years. The non profit's vision is healthy children, empowered families, a thriving community.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Stay Connected