Powder chowder: U.S. charity gives Ottawa Mission some palletable cuisine ROBERT BOSTELAARMore from Robert Bostelaar Published on: January 28, 2015Last Updated: January 28, 2015 6:18 PM EST
Mathew and Bruce have lunch at the Ottawa Mission during Christmas in January, a luncheon provided by Global Village Champions Foundation and the McLean Law Group in Ottawa on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015.
Justin Tang / Ottawa Citizen
When staff at the Ottawa Mission heard they would be the recipient of “100,000 meals” to feed the homeless, they might have wondered what form the donation would take. A mountain of frozen dinners? The world’s biggest takeout bag of burgers and fries? What they got Wednesday from the Global Village Champions Foundation, a Florida-based charity, was a pallet 0f a soy-based powder called VitaPro. The Mission’s reaction? We can use that.
“It’s something I think our kitchen can work with in different dishes, and be able to supplement some meals,” said spokeswoman Shirley Roy. “We’ll probably use it over several months.” Global Village communications director Audra McMurray, who delivered the powder and a $5,000 cash donation, said VitaPro can be safely stored for almost two years, so the Mission has plenty of time to employ it in soups, gravies and other dishes. It can also be consumed on its own — and often is when distributed in disaster-relief efforts. “We have chicken flavour, beef flavour, a vegetable flavour and now a new Asian type, because we ship so much to Asian countries,” said McMurray, who said the chicken variety tastes “almost like a bouillon — just very flavourful.” The foundation was launched in 1995 by VitaPro Foods founder Yank Barry, a colourful, Montreal-born musician and entrepreneur. VitaPro is based in Bulgaria and, according to its website, supplies its textured vegetable protein to commercial caterers and government institutions worldwide, including the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Correctional Services Canada. McMurray said she was in Ottawa last fall and recommended adding the Canadian capital to a list of “Christmas in January” events meant to highlight the need to support food programs year-round. Other recipients were Tampa and Phoenix. Shirley Roy said 100,000 meals are welcome, whatever their form. “They certainly made a donation to the Ottawa Mission, and we thank them for that.” rbostelaar@ottawacitizen.com