A Toronto food bank is fighting to ensure some services get ahead of the city’s construction plans

A Toronto food bank is deeply concerned about the well-being of its community due to a planned city-run construction project that could limit access to some of the centre’s vital services for up to nine months.

The Stop Community Food Centre, located at 1884 Davenport Road, leases its space from the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC). The TCHC is a non-profit social housing agency owned by the City of Toronto.

The TCHC not only hosts The Stop, which serves approximately 60,000 free and fresh meals per year, but also houses more than 89,00 residents in 106 neighborhoods in Toronto.

Including The Stop, 1884 Davenport Road has 186 units, 40 subsidized housing units and 46 market rental units. The TCHC currently has 210 tenants, 13 of which have accessibility needs.

The Stop says the TCHC plans to renovate a local drop-in area on site to create an additional accessible bathroom and other Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) upgrades, but that plans will cut the facility of some of the food will be wasted. vital services of the bank.

“The work will add an additional accessible bathroom to (the) Drop-In area, remove counter space, remove stage space, remove storage, a staff office and other critical equipment,” The Stop said in a statement earlier this month.

Additionally, the space already has one existing bathroom that meets AODA standards, and TCHC’s plans to add another exceed current guidelines, the food bank says.

The TCHC told Now Toronto in an emailed statement that construction at 1884 Davenport Road is “fundamental work” in its efforts to meet accessibility needs and legal requirements identified by the Tenants Advisory Committee.

“The construction will include upgrades to three key tenant areas: the laundry room, an exterior wheel transmission drop-off point, and the common/recreation room, kitchen and laundry areas on the main floor,” the statement said.

According to De Stop, it was briefly informed of the renovation proposal three years ago, but was excluded from involvement in the project.

“We were loosely informed of these plans in 2021 and promised to be involved in their development, but this did not happen,” The Stop said.

Construction will begin on June 3 and will take between six and nine months. During this period, the community center will not be able to operate its walk-in meal program, among other things.

“Once the renovations are complete, many of our programs will also no longer be viable. At this time of increased food insecurity, we are very concerned about the impact this will have

on the people who rely on us,” says The Stop.

The TCHC confirmed to Now Toronto that the project will temporarily limit The Stop’s ability to offer their drop-in meal program from the building’s common tenant space on the ground floor. But says staff have been in constant contact with The Stop to find a viable solution.

“We understand the challenges this construction presents,” the TCHC wrote.

De Stop also said it has been working with the TCHC for months to find an appropriate solution for the “relocation and furnishing” of the site, but no viable alternatives have been identified, meaning many community programs will have to be relocated.

“We will also face prohibitive costs in finding a temporary home – with only a few weeks before work begins,” the group said.

“We believe there is a design solution that will work for The Stop, our community members, and TCHC, but we have not yet been able to have a meaningful discussion with TCHC that appropriately balances these needs,” the report continued.

But the TCHC says it has proposed several options, including alternative programming space for The Stop in a nearby TCHC building and a rent reduction.

The Stop is located in three locations in west Toronto and has been in business for more than 40 years. It currently runs more than fifteen programs aimed at reducing food insecurity, improving access to housing, health care, tax services and more.

The Stop says members of the local community who rely on its services have expressed deep concerns about the impact of the impending renovations.