Stephen Vance, Staff
For many of us, when we hear the name Golden Town Outreach, we think about the valuable food bank service that they provide to this community, but the GTO does so much more.
On Monday mornings the GTO hosts a Community Cafe that includes games, crafts, music and refreshments – not to mention the friendships to be made over a cup of coffee. The Community Cafes also allow the GTO to invite representatives from the local library, the parks and recreation department, and others to make presentations about local programs available to the community.
Assistance is also available at the GTO for those in search of employment. Local job opportunities are regularly posted, and volunteers can assist with the preparation of resumes.
Another popular program offered by the GTO is cooking classes that help teach participants the skills required to prepare nutritious, affordable meals.
In recent years the GTO has played a key role in the development of local community gardens, and much of the produce grown in those gardens is donated back to the food bank operation.
Working together with other local organizations, including the municipality, the United Way, and local service clubs, is important to the GTO, and it helps to expand their reach and the services they are able to provide to the community. Among the many community initiatives supported by the GTO are helping to distribute backpacks in support of the United Way’s annual back to school program, hosting the popular Harvest Dinner, and they help provide recreational opportunities through programs like the Canadian Tire Jump-start initiative.
“We are so grateful to our community for all the support we receive throughout the year,” GTO volunteer Lorene Taylor told The Independent.
GTO volunteers are currently busy preparing to distribute between 150 and 170 Christmas hampers to users of their food bank services. The GTO food bank, which operates out of the basement of the Church of the Nazarene on Trowbridge Street, is open on Monday mornings and Thursday evenings.
The food bank service is supported by the generous donations made by local residents and businesses. The GTO says that while all donations of non-perishable food items are always greatly appreciated, items that are consistently in demand include cereal, peanut butter, canned tomatoes, canned vegetables, canned pasta sauce, canned tuna/salmon, canned fruit, and personal hygiene items.
You can find out more about the Golden Town Outreach and all of the services they provide (as well as the ways you can help) by visiting their website (www.goldentownoutreach.org).
