Niagara’s Community Support Services have made approximately 3,000 grocery deliveries since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the help of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and a $71,300 grant, we have been able to serve over 100 unique clients and make 800 deliveries since April 2022.
Last week, nonprofit representatives met with Niagara Center MPP Jeff Burch and Welland Deputy Mayor Leo Van Vliet to recognize the impact of grants from the Foundation’s Resilient Communities Fund.
Christine Bottenfield Bissonnet, Community Development Specialist at CSSN, said the funding allowed for more staff, which helped keep the program sustainable.
CSSN has processed 3,866 grocery delivery orders since launching the program on April 1, 2020.
The grant specifically allows for the continuation of the program, assistance with delivery fees, employment of delivery drivers, and equipment to support it, due to the “continuous” demand for services. she said.
Bottenfield Bissonnet says:
This delivery program helps vulnerable individuals without access to their own groceries.
Some reasons include physical restrictions, lack of transportation availability, and lack of support personnel to help load and unload groceries.
A lack of understanding of online ordering is also a factor, she said.
Burch said he was pleased to recognize the results the grant had brought.
“If it weren’t for Niagara’s community support services and its grocery delivery program, what would happen to the many elderly and other disabled people on board who wouldn’t have been able to get food during the pandemic lockdown? This service continues to go a long way in helping people stay independent and healthy at home,” Burch said in a news release. .
The grant has allowed CSSN to build a “strong foundation for a program to ensure sustainability” post-pandemic, the organization said.
The program is open to older adults in Niagara as well as adults with disabilities.
CSSN executive director Carolyn Askeland said in a news release:
“This has enabled CSSN to help seniors and adults with disabilities maintain their health and well-being by supporting access to nutritious foods. Either they don’t have the social support to do so, or they have health and mobility problems that impede their ability to do so independently,” Askeland said.
