MOOSE JAW — Hope Ministries had been serving its weekday suppers at the downtown Salvation Army building for nearly a year, but the food security agency has moved out and is now serving its meals elsewhere.
The non-profit served its last supper in the basement of the Salvation Army’s First Avenue Northwest office on June 27 and, on June 30, packed up its supplies and moved them to First Baptist Church on Main Street. Besides the packing, volunteers also cleaned up the kitchen and dining room.
Hope Ministries served dinners from the basement venue for nine months, but is now moving because the Salvation Army wants to use the dining room and kitchen for other activities, explained Rachel Mullens, the non-profit’s executive director. The food security agency is “incredibly grateful” to have used the space to serve meals to the community’s less fortunate.
Continuing, she said Hope Ministries knew the accommodations weren’t permanent and that it would have to move someday. This just happened to be when the Salvation Army wanted to make changes, so it asked the food security to leave.
“… and yeah, we’re OK with that,” Mullens remarked, noting that moving out is a big job, but having a great team of dedicated volunteers makes it easier.
Using the kitchen and dining room for nearly a year was great because it put a roof over the charity’s head, whereas last year, it was forced to serve meals outside when the weather began growing cold, she said. So, it was nice to serve people inside while offering them a space to warm up.
First Baptist Church offered the food security agency a space to keep its supplies, which is convenient since the latter serves its weekday lunches there and uses it as a warming space, Mullens added.
Meanwhile, with Zion United Church closed for July, Hope Ministries will take on serving lunches on Mondays, with that activity happening at First Baptist Church. The United Church will return to serving lunches on that day in August.
Despite lacking an indoor venue to serve suppers, Hope Ministries will still provide those meals this summer by preparing the food inside St. Aidan Anglican Church — across the street from the Salvation Army main office — and serving the food from that organization’s parking lot.
Volunteers will serve the meals between 5 and 6 p.m.
Hope Ministries can use St. Aidan’s kitchen and its parking lot because a board member attends the Anglican Church, while the church “has been incredibly supportive” of what the charity does, said Mullens. Also, it used the church’s space “on and off” last year, which helped build that relationship.
“” she chuckled. “We’re looking for a permanent location; (we) have a few leads, but nothing permanent. We’re just trying to get all our Is dotted and our Ts crossed and see where we can go … .”
Mullens would like to see a new venue close to downtown, noting that the non-profit wants to work with the downtown businesses to ensure they’re on board with the project “and do what’s best for everyone involved.”
Mullens added that, overall, Hope Ministries has been doing well with serving lunches, while it is receiving sufficient donations from the community and teaming up with other social agencies and “getting it done” to support the less fortunate.
