Sault Ste. Marie groups provide food for those in need

Food security groups in Sault Ste. Marie are providing free meal kits to the city’s vulnerable population.

Grocer 4 Good and Harvest Algoma recently launched the initiative which is already proving to be a success.

Lisa Vezeau-Allen, the founder of Grocer 4 Good, said the plan is to provide healthy meal kits, free of charge, from now until the end of August. And, the kits come with everything needed to prepare a full meal.

"It is the ‘Saturday Well Market’ and all of the meal kits will be vegetarian mostly. They come with full recipes, instructions and all of the ingredients, even the salt and pepper. One of the pilot meals was a vegan mashed potato and we even provided a potato masher," she said.

Adding Grocer 4 Good’s inability to safety store meat is the reason behind the vegetarian kits. There are a limited number of kits available each week, and they are already spoken for until early June.

"It was pretty overwhelming, and in one day we booked straight through to June 4. So it also identifies that there is a need. We’ll definitely look for other partners, other funders to keep this going because I think it’s really important," Vezeau-Allen said.

Harvest Algoma is helping out with the launch, providing baked goods for the meal kits. It’s the first time they’ve partnered with Grocer 4 Good.

"Lisa reached out to us and asked us if we wanted to make the buns for her basket over here and we agreed. And we decided that we’d partner and put some goods out ourselves," said Deron Barlow of Harvest Algoma.

Vezeau-Allen said the meal kits will differ week-to-week with a variety of ingredients and recipes, and that those wanting to secure a kit can contact Grocer 4 Good.

The group’s first gala fundraising event is June 11 at the Bushplane museum.