New Sudbury non-profit makes meals for the city's homeless people
CBC
What started with some improvised meals 10 months ago has turned into a new nonprofit organization that provides warm food for Greater Sudbury's homeless population.
Chantelle Dupuis founded Bizzzy Bea's on Dec. 1, 2020, when she found herself with some food donated to Sudbury's Samaritan Centre that was too close to expiring.
Dupuis saw a Facebook post from a woman who had some extra food that would go to waste soon. Local organizations could not accept the food in time, so she reached out and decided to put her cooking skills to use with the ingredients.
She ended up with a case of oranges, some green beans, potatoes and lots of flavoured water.
Her grandmother, Bea Dupuis, the foundation's namesake, often used leftover roast beef, potatoes, beans and onions for a meal she called a "fricassée".
"So I figured that was the easiest thing to make," Dupuis said. "It would be hearty, it would be warm, it would be good."
She had enough leftover ingredients to make 25 warm meals, and brought them to downtown Sudbury, where could hand deliver them to people experiencing homelessness.
The meals were a hit, and word spread quickly. Since that first day, the organization has brought in more than 40 volunteers who serve around 400 meals each week. In 10 months, Dupuis said Bizzzy Bea's has donated more than 6,000 meals to people experiencing homelessness.
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday volunteers fill grocery bags with granola bars, fresh fruit and veggies, water, juice, some crackers and a warm meal. They pack cars and head downtown, where they hand deliver the bags.
"They now know us as the bees," Dupuis said about her downtown clientele. "So when we pull up, they're pretty smiley. They're almost like family now. They sit down with us and they tell us how their day is."
Dupuis said a few people have even reached out after they've been able to improve their lives. Some completed detox programs, and one man became a volunteer after his recovery.
"Our goal is just to, like my saying says, warm their tummies and their hearts," Dupuis said. "We're just giving over a little bit of love. Some friendship with those bags."
Now that Bizzzy Bea's has nonprofit status, Dupuis said it will allow the organization to expand its reach. As a nonprofit, she said it also gives people more confidence their donations would be going to a good cause.
To celebrate its first anniversary on Dec.1, Bizzzy Bea's will work with local restaurants to donate a special meal to their clients. They'll also prepare some Christmas gifts for their regulars.
From the Detroit Lions losing to Apple iPhones that spontaneously update, Windsorites had things that bugged them this year.
Calgary emergency rooms are “in a state of critical overcapacity” ahead of the anticipated peak of flu season — and to cope with the surge and wait-room crowding, officials are urging doctors to speed up their decisions on whether to admit patients, according to a memo obtained by CBC News.
Northern Ontario's highway system needs improvements in order to make travel safer, a highway safety advocate said.
Hundreds of thousands of used tires are piling up across Ontario as some companies responsible for tire recycling have stopped processing tires amid reduced provincial recycling regulations for tire producers, industry experts say.
People in Guelph facing homelessness will soon have a new place to go during the day.
Islanders are reminded to plan their rides ahead of holiday festivities if they plan on drinking alcohol or using cannabis.
Even before Gwen Healey Akearok began her new role as Nunavut’s Minister of Family Services, she was tuning into the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) hearings on the state of the Family Services department.
The racial reckoning of the COVID era saw Canada grapple with its checkered past — a process that led to statues of some foundational figures being removed, in some instances by force.
Holiday traditions are front and centre for many people at this time of year. But one Uxbridge family's Christmas tradition goes above and beyond the standard Christmas carols or holiday party.
A pedestrian is dead, and police are investigating following a collision in a north London parking lot on Tuesday afternoon.
Police have lifted a shelter-in-place order for parts of St. John's.
Nova Scotia Power is providing more information about the cyberattack on the utility earlier this year and its response in the months that followed.
A rare old-growth forest in Quebec’s Mauricie region is at the centre of a growing conflict between conservation advocates and the provincial government, after forestry roadwork was authorized in an area currently under review for protected status.