A blustery and cold Christmas Eve saw a bit of warmth and holiday cheer as Traditions Seniors Housing, along with sponsors Swiss Chalet and Groovy Tuesday’s Bistro, made and distributed 200 seasonal meals available at no cost to Barrie’s most vulnerable residents.
Their goal was to “ensure that our unhoused population has a warm, nutritious meal, especially at Christmastime.”
Bruce Stewart, of Traditions Development, the managing partner of the Residences on Owen — a new, 278-unit adult lifestyle community to be built on the east side of Owen Street immediately across from the Barrie Public Library — saw a need to reach out and help people in the area.
“As a Barrie native, I’m well aware of the people that are in need in the downtown core, so I just thought that it would be nice to be able to do this for them, and I think this will be an annual thing,” said Stewart. “It was kind of a last-minute idea, so it may not get the attendance that we are looking for, but if it happens on an annual basis, it will become part of the community fabric. That would be nice.”
Melanie Barrett and Cody Clark, owners of Groovy Tuesday’s Bistro on Collier Street, were kind enough to open their doors for the event Saturday.
“Bruce called us and thought it was a good idea and contacted Swiss Chalet, who prepared 200 ‘festive special’ meals. At 2:30, we will be open for people to pop in and get what they need,” said Barrett. “Groovy’s is big into community work. We just raised $9,000 for Christmas Cheer. This is the first time for this event and (it) could become an annual thing.”
The event was set up as a walk-in for individuals and families who need a good meal this time of year. All the remaining boxes of food were to be distributed among the local downtown shelters so the food is not wasted.
Also popping by to lend a helping hand were Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall and Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson.
“We are just trying to make sure that everyone has a wonderful Christmas, and it’s great to have our local building community involved in helping out downtown. They are doing a lot of construction and building down here, so it’s nice to see them helping out,” said Nuttall. “The (remaining) boxes (of meals) are headed out to different shelters around the downtown. Myself and Deputy Mayor Thomson are heading to the Rose Street shelter, and the other boxes are headed to the Busby Centre, Salvation Army, the Elizabeth Fry Society, and Youth Haven.”
