NEWS RELEASE
CHIGAMIK COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE
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Centre de santé communautaire Chigamik Community Health Centre (CSC Chigamik CHC) is pleased to announce that it has received a grant of $20,000 from Community Food Centres Canada’s Good Food Access Fund. The grant will support CSC Chigamik CHC’s Emergency Food Program, which has been in place since April 2020.
Funding is provided in part by the Government of Canada’s Local Food Infrastructure Fund, as part of the Food Policy for Canada. The Fund aims to strengthen food systems and facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for at-risk populations.
“Measures to contain COVID-19 are affecting low income populations the most and potentially making food insecurities worse,” says Jessica North, Community Health Manager, CSC Chigamik CHC. “The funding provided to us from Community Food Centres Canada has enabled us to set up an Emergency Food program and provide emergency grocery support for those who are financially struggling during the pandemic. We are extremely grateful for their support.”
Through CSC Chigamik CHC’s Emergency Food Program, members of the community in need receive a bag of fresh produce once per week for eight weeks or an emergency food card. The program runs until the end of July.
“Food insecurity was already an urgent problem before the COVID-19 crisis, with one in eight Canadians struggling to put food on the table. In a time of national crisis, it is in our nature as Canadians to do what we can for our most vulnerable neighbours. We are grateful to the Government of Canada for their quick response, as well as the many corporate partners and generous donors who have stepped forward,” says Nick Saul, CEO of Community Food Centres Canada.
“The Good Food Access Fund aims to make sure that as many people as possible will be able to get the food that they need. And while we must deal with the current circumstances, CFCC remains committed to advancing policy change that addresses the underlying causes of food insecurity and poverty in Canada. We can’t forget that structural inequity is at the core of so many of the challenges that Canadians face, a fact which painfully confronts us when an emergency like this occurs.”
For more information about CSC Chigamik CHC’s community programs and services, visit www.chigamik.ca.
For more information about Community Food Centres Canada, please visit www.cfccanada.ca/en/Home.
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