By Susanne Wussow
Meaford’s sense of community is coming back; whether it’s the Scarecrow Invasion, the various Friends programs, or just being greeted with a friendly ‘Hello’ by someone I don’t know as I’m walking down the street, Meaford is terrific at making us feel warm and fuzzy about living here. And after these years of Covid, I got that warm and fuzzy feeling at the Riverside Breakfast.
The Riverside Community Centre on the 7th Line has started their monthly breakfasts again from now through to September, on the second Sunday of the month. Run by local volunteers as a fundraiser to help keep the Centre running, breakfast is cafeteria-style, with scrambled eggs, ham, pancakes, toast, and hash browns. Additional goodies are fresh home made muffins (nothing like homemade!) with a selection of homemade jams, and sliced fresh fruit. A total treat at $15.
This is a good old-fashioned country breakfast, and believe it or not, I really enjoyed the jello salads. Tomato aspic on the eggs was perfect – forget about ketchup, this was so much better. I know that some people may think that they’re old school, but that’s what I liked about the breakfast – it was old school, friendly, and completely untrendy. Down to earth home cooking suited me just fine.
The breakfasts began ten years ago, to help raise funds to cover the bills for the community centre, and the first breakfast had a grand total of 22 people. On Mother’s Day one year, more than 150 breakfasts were dished up by the volunteers. This first breakfast since pre-Covid was a great success, with about 70 people.
Fresh flowers on each table are supplied free by Simply Unique, and once again I’m reminded how everyone pitches in to make Meaford such a special place.
“No one sits alone.” The last time I came – I think it was all the way back in 2019 – those words struck a chord with me when I spoke to one of the volunteers. She had mentioned that at first, some people would come and sit alone while they ate breakfast, but over time everyone made an effort to connect, and now, “no one sits alone”. That’s Meaford for you.
Meaford’s community spirit is something special, and it can take newcomers to the area a long time to ‘get it’. I’ve marked every single date for the Riverside Breakfasts in my calendar – because I ‘get it’, and besides having a great breakfast, I’ll be getting some refreshment in the Meaford spirit.
Riverside Community Centre, $15 per person
9 a.m. – 1 p.m. 2nd Sunday of the month, April – September.
157707 – 7th Line 519-538-2938 Wheelchair accessible
