Welcome to the Club - Fall 2021

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721 LITE ST., POINT EDWARD I 519-491-5606 WWW.SITARASARNIA.COM
Sarnia chef says he’s blessed
to provide free meals to hundreds
1308 LONDON RD., SARNIA I 519-491-5650 WWW.SITARASARNIA.COM
Story and photo by Cathy Dobson, Point Edward
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Sarnia’s Kevin Allen doesn’t want to
see good food go to waste.
He also likes to see seniors eat
nutritious, affordable meals.
Driven by those two principles,
Allen has prepared a whopping 50,000
free meals in the past 18 months,
often spending 70 hours a week in
the kitchen and organizing dozens of
volunteers to deliver meals to those
who need them.
He calls his project Sarnia Blessings
and is hoping to establish it as a
registered charity that can be sustained
in the longterm.
It all began in March 2020 when
Allen cooked for a function at his
church and had a few meals left over.
“I knew some seniors who might
appreciate them and offered to
deliver,” he said.
Then he found a spare roast in his
freezer and cooked that up too, after
learning older residents were having
difficulty getting groceries during the
first pandemic lockdown. Many were
afraid to go outside.
“I found older couples, where the
wife was sick and he didn’t know
how to cook anything. I realized
there were so many people who need
good, nutritious food,” said Allen, 55,
a professional chef who has cooked
many years for a large summer camp
in Algonquin Park.
With those first meals delivered,
Allen was surprised by more requests.
Most were from family members
worried about elderly relatives
struggling through the pandemic.
Volunteers began chipping in to help
organize and the number jumped to
90 meals a week. Demand continued
to surge after the group started a
Facebook page.
“I always said this was all
backwards,” said Allen, who is
described by friends as a very humble
fellow.
“Most organizations see a need
and try to meet it. With this, I started
cooking and then uncovered a need.
“You wouldn’t believe the number
of people waiting to get into nursing
homes who shouldn’t be using a
stove.”
It was only a matter of time before
Sarnia Blessings began taking referrals
from Bluewater Health for people
going home post-surgery, and from
community organizations like the
Alzheimer’s Society.
At their busiest, Allen and his
volunteers delivered 795 free meals a
week to about 160 people. That’s five
meals per person per week.
“We were going to cut it off at 100
but just kept going when the need was
there,” he said.
Allen, his wife Jan and their team
worked tirelessly to organize it all and
started a screening process. From the
beginning, he didn’t let the food bills
worry him even though it was costing
thousands of dollars.
“I always said I’d keep cooking
as long as donations came in, and
they rolled in week after week from
churches, individuals, businesses… so
many contributed,” he said.
“I think God primed me for
something worthwhile. If I can cook
for 500 rich kids a day at summer
camp, I can do it for this.”
His church, Lighthouse Community
Church, was a big support, as were
other churches and service clubs. One
local woman made bread. Another
baked 600 muffins a week. A Canadian
Red Cross grant secured by the French
Community Centre covered food costs
for 12 weeks.
It was truly a community
effort and a labor of love for
Allen, who was recognized
by the City of Sarnia for
going “above and beyond in
response to COVID-19.”
The Sarnia Sting and
Imperial Oil honoured him
and Sarnia Blessings with an
“Extra Mile” award in the fight
against the pandemic.
But eventually the 70-hour
weeks proved to be too much.
Seven months into the
project, a case of shingles
slowed Allen. In February,
tired and short on donations,
he put the full Sarnia Blessings
program “on hold.”
Yet he didn’t stop cooking
free meals entirely. Allen and Jan have
never stopped preparing 150 meals a
week for the oldest demographic on
their roster, mostly those aged 85 and
older.
And work continues behind the
scenes to bring back the meal plan at
full capacity.
In the last few months, Sarnia
Blessings has incorporated and struck
a board of directors .
The group is working with the
new owners of Sarnia’s Central
United Church to firm up a deal for
permanent use of the commercial
kitchen there. London-based Xoana
Corporation intends to redevelop the
historic church into residential units
but Allen says Xoana representatives
are enthusiastic about donating the
building’s kitchen space.
“We’re working through a rezoning
at city hall that’s taking a while,”
Allen said.
Other community organizations
like The Inn of the Good Shepherd are
providing some of the food he needs.
“If the Inn has extra produce, for
instance, they’ll send it to me and
that’s wonderful. It ensures no food
is thrown out and that seniors who
really need it, those without family
to help them, or those who can’t
physically prepare their meals, eat
good food.
“And, trust me, I’m not doing this
alone. This is not a one man show.
It’s a team effort and 100 per cent
volunteer.
“It’s just amazing that God is
making this work.”
“I always said I’d keep
cooking as long as donations
came in, and they rolled in
week after week from churches,
individuals, businesses… so
many contributed.”
FALL 2021 Popular Slogans... Bounty - The quicker picker upper.
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