Meaford’s council has approved revisions to the popular recreation subsidy program, which they hope will allow the annual funding to stretch further and assist more families.
The Municipality’s recreation subsidy program was launched in 2019, and the Meaford Food Bank & Outreach was enlisted to administer the program, which allows residents of the municipality to apply for a subsidy for a range of recreation activities. In 2021, a Recreation Fund policy was established in order to provide clarity for eligibility, and an updated memorandum of understanding was agreed upon by the Municipality and the Food Bank & Outreach.
The program allows residents of the Municipality with a household income under a defined level to apply for a financial subsidy for a wide range of recreation activities.
Over the past few years the program has proven to be so popular that funding requests have exceeded the available funding.
For the years 2019 through 2022, the subsidy requests were below the $30,000 budget, averaging $21,390 per year, however post-pandemic the subsidy requests increased significantly, and in 2023, the program paid out $57,169 in subsidies, while last year the program had already exceeded the budgeted amount by the middle of April.
In addition to increasing the amount allocated for the program each year to $55,000, including $2,250 which is paid to the food bank to administer the program, council asked staff to provide an updated policy that would include increasing the applicant contribution amount from 10 percent to 20 percent of the total cost, with a minimum of $25 per activity.
“While updating the report, staff took the opportunity to review the remainder of the Recreation Fund Policy and propose additional amendments for Council’s consideration,” staff told council in an April 28 report.
Changes made to the policy after council’s vote at their May 12 meeting include adjusting the low-income cut-off and annual credit amounts, as well as increasing the applicant contribution amount from 10 to 20 percent.
The updated policy also includes direction for improved monitoring of the program.
“Municipal staff shall review applications on a bi-monthly basis to ensure criteria are met and to see what changes should be made on an annual basis,” staff advised in their report, which also noted that, “Municipal staff shall also provide budget numbers on a monthly basis to the Meaford Food Bank & Outreach to ensure money is being given equally and shall last for the full year of programming.”
After council’s vote to approve the updated recreation fund policy, municipal staff will provide the updated policy to the Meaford Food Bank and Outreach along with an updated application form.
“The policy will take effect immediately and will allow applications to be retroactively funded for any programming in 2025,” staff advised in their report. “Staff will also work with the Meaford Food Bank & Outreach to advertise the Recreation Fund with inclusion of the program in upcoming Municipal newsletters and social media posts.”
Information about the recreation subsidy program can be found on the municipal website (meaford.ca)
