'It's overwhelming, the need up here': Charity launches food truck in Glace Bay

A Halifax-based charity is hoping to make a dent in food insecurity in Glace Bay, Cape Breton with a new pilot project launched on Saturday.

Souls Harbour Rescue Mission's canteen truck will offer free meals at the Warden United Church in New Aberdeen from noon to 3 p.m. every Saturday in June.

The charity operates centres in Halifax, Bridgewater, Truro and Lower Sackville, and opened a drop-in centre in Sydney Mines earlier this year.

Board Member Terry Dwyer, originally from New Waterford, said the organization already had Glace Bay in its sights when the Sydney Mines centre opened.

Dwyer said research indicated Glace Bay had a great need.

"It's actually off the charts," he said. "It's overwhelming, the need up here.

"The child poverty in the New Waterford/Glace Bay Area [is] probably the highest in eastern Canada ... people that are living in the margins, people that are struggling."

Terry Dwyer is on the board of Souls Harbour Rescue Mission. (Sarah Martin/Martin Media)

Dwyer said the truck was donated by a couple from Sydney River and is staffed by volunteers.

Almost all of the food is donated by local farmers, businesses and individuals, Dwyer said.

He said Souls Harbour has partnered with Warden United Church for the project.

Saturday's launch was an outdoor barbecue. But people will be able to sit inside the church next Saturday to have their meal.

The truck has been modified to carry meals for 50 people, he said. But the charity hopes to partner with a facility that has access to a kitchen and a dining area so meals can be prepared on site.

Meals are being prepared at the Sydney Mines centre for now, Dwyer said.

According to Dwyer, the intention is to have the truck on the road 40 hours a week from Monday to Friday once the pilot project is complete.

Christine Porter, executive director of the Ally Centre, says there's a need for more food resources in Cape Breton. (CBC)

Christine Porter, the executive director of the Ally Centre in Cape Breton, welcomed the idea of another food resource in the area.

"It's just getting exceedingly worse," Porter said. "People are hungry, they're tired and they're worried all the time about how they're going to feed themselves and their families."

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