COMMUNITY

Join the Walk for the Centre on October 2

By Stan Currie

Once again, residents of the Glebe are invited to turn out to walk in support of improved food security in central Ottawa by raising money for the Centretown Emergency Food Centre. This year’s Walk for the Centre will be held on Sunday, October 2, starting and finishing at Jean Pigott Place at City Hall. This annual event is organized by the 22-member Centretown Churches Social Action Committee (CCSAC), with six members located in the Glebe.

Your support will go to a good cause, helping low-income residents in central Ottawa put food on the table. Despite diminished COVID concerns, inflation has risen dramatically this year and food prices have been going up. The Centretown Emergency Food Centre is open three days a week, serving up to 650 clients in central Ottawa who receive a five-day supply of food once a month. No one is turned away.

The annual Walk for the Centre is a family-friendly event. Thanks to support from local grocery stores and several other local businesses, there will be prizes again this year for winning photos taken by participants on the walk.

Come join the festivities on October 2 and support the need for better food security for central Ottawa. Activities begin at 1:30 p.m. with live music from a barbershop quartet, followed by the official opening at 2 p.m. As in the past, a piper will lead walkers out the doors of City Hall with the energizing skirl of the bagpipes. The walk will be along the Queen Elizabeth Pathway and the Rideau Canal.

This year’s walk will be the first in-person event since the pandemic began. While many pandemic restrictions have been lifted, some people remain cautious. Masks and sanitizer will be available at the registration desk at Jean Pigott Place.

Registration is now open at www. centretownchurches.org/walkathon. Online donations are again encouraged at www.centretownchurches.org. Alternatively, donations can be made by cheque at the registration desk on October 2 or mailed directly to the Centretown Churches Social Action Committee at 507 Bank Street, Ottawa K2P 1Z5.

Generous support for the virtual walkathons during the past two years of COVID restrictions helped the Food Centre keep going through this difficult time, so we would like to express our recognition and gratitude for the generosity of our individual and business donors as well as many neighbours in the Glebe and the rest of our broad catchment area.

Stan Currie is the CCSAC representative for St. Giles Presbyterian and a long-time supporter of the Centretown Emergency Food Centre.

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