Photos: Houston Link to Learning
In February 2020, Houston Link to Learning (HLL) celebrated the complete transformation of their kitchen into a spacious commercial kitchen capable of comfortably welcoming community members for a variety of food-oriented programming. Northern Development contributed to this renovation with a $30,000 grant through its former Community Halls and Recreation Facilities program.
“However, due to COVID-19 the kitchen’s usage has not been as planned,” said Marian Ells, manager, HLL. “Final completion was in February 2020 and of course we had to close to groups in March 2020. By April, we were noticing that most other locations that community members went to for food were also closed. This created a real crisis situation for some community members who struggle with food security issues.”
In response to this realization, HLL adapted and started a Recipe Bag program with the assistance of some emergency funding. Instead of cooking together, HLL provided families with bags containing a recipe, ingredients and resources to be taken home and cooked there. In July, they started Food Kitchen, a program where community members could receive a free lunch twice a week.
“Food Kitchen began with us providing around 30 meals a week,” explained Ells. “Since then, the program has grown and grown. We now serve approximately 150 meals a week and deliver 24 meals a week to vulnerable seniors in the community who are unable to collect food. For our Christmas lunch this year we served 270 meals, 67 of them delivered to seniors. While we’re not using the new kitchen in the way we expected, the new equipment and space has been invaluable in this adapted way of preparing so many meals on a weekly basis.”
Before the pandemic forced them to alter their program delivery method, HLL supported the community of Houston for 32 years by offering a variety of programming, including food skills for families, take and bake Tuesdays, resume writing, computer literacy, community garden and much more. Their policy is to provide food at every program as they recognize that many of their learners are low-income and low-literacy and that they cannot focus on learning when they are hungry.
For the past decade, Houston has welcomed a significant number of families and older single adults to the community who are attracted by low-cost rental housing. HLL learned that many of these people arrive with multiple barriers, including low income, low literacy, food security challenges, no reliable transportation and no local support network. HLL programing includes life skills which address some of these challenges and helps develop basic literacy skills, which can start people on the path to long-term employment.
“Cooking is a great way to teach literacy skills, life skills and employability skills while in the kitchen,” wrote Mike McDiarmid, superintendent, School District No. 54 – Bulkley Valley in a 2019 letter of support for the project. “The programs HLL will be able to provide will remove barriers and address food security issues. All of these opportunities will enable our parents to be more successful in their lives and improve the life chances of their children.”
At the time of the grant application, the unemployment rate in Houston was high but employers were struggling to fill vacant positions. HLL identified this was because many of those who were unemployed did not have the skills required to fill entry level positions. By offering relevant programs and services to the community, HLL supports the population and local businesses.
Funding for this project was disbursed through the Trust’s former Community Halls and Recreation Facilities grant program. In September 2020, new community funding programs were launched. Through the new suite of programs, this same project would be eligible for up to $30,000 through the Community Places funding program.
