Chef Chuck Hughes visits The Stop!
Friday, May 11, 2012

Chuck’s Day Off: The Stop Edition

Chef Chuck Hughes shares his kitchen tips with the kids in our After School Program!

On Monday, May 14, celebrity Chef Chuck Hughes will share his love of local food with the kids in The Stop’s After School Program. The author of new cookbook Garde Manger (HarperCollins Canada) and star of Chuck’s Day Off will spend the afternoon in the kitchen teaching our budding culinary experts, aged 8 to 12, how to prepare his favourite fish recipe. It’s a match made in kitchen heaven: a rock’n’roll chef meets the rockingest and rollingest of kids. Will Chef be able to keep up? What kitchen chaos will ensue? Come out and find out!

When: Monday, May 14, 2012, 4:00 to 5:45 pm

Where: The Stop’s Green Barn (601 Christie St., Barn 4)

Media RSVP: Christina Palassio, 416 652 7867 ext. 250, christina [at] thestop [dot] org

Named the Next Big Celebrity Chef by New York Magazine’s Grub Street blog, Chuck Hughes went head to head with Iron Chef Bobby Flay in a lobster takedown, becoming one of only two Canadian chefs to emerge victorious in the Kitchen Stadium. Chuck is the star of Food Network Canada’s and The Cooking Channel’s (US) Chuck’s Day Off, which has garnered three Canadian Gemini nominations and is now in its third season, airing in over 20 countries. Chuck attended culinary school at the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec, and is the co-owner of Montreal hot spots Garde Manger and Le Bremner. Chuck lives in Montreal and likes to escape to nearby Magog with his dog Fakey whenever he can.

The Stop's After School Program engages children aged 8 to 12 in fun, hands-on activities that encourage positive attitudes towards healthy eating and teaches them the skills they need to grow, cook and select healthy food. Watch a video about the After School Program. 

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Media contact, The Stop: Christina Palassio, 416 652 7867 ext. 250, christina [at] thestop [dot] org

Media contact, Chuck Hughes:Maylene Loveland, 416 975 9334 ext. 166, maylene [dot] loveland [at] harpercollins [dot] com

The Stop seeks a new Executive Director
Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Stop Community Food Centre is currently seeking a new Executive Director to replace long-time director Nick Saul, who is leaving to head up Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC), a new national organization that will drive the development of community food centres across the country.

A hiring committee has been struck to lead the search to fill the Executive Director position, in conjunction with Lennox Millar Executive Search. A job posting will be circulated in early April, with the aim of having a new Executive Director dedicated to continuing The Stop’s critical and innovative community-building work in place by summer 2012. To suggest or recommend candidates for the position of Executive Director, please contact Charles Lennox, in confidence, at clennox [at] lennoxmillar [dot] com.

The Stop plays a crucial role in the low-income community of Davenport West, and is a leading voice in the food security and anti-poverty movements nationwide. Saul leaves the organization in excellent health—over his 14 years at the helm of The Stop, the organization has worked to increase access to healthy food through a unique mix of food skills, food access, and engagement and education programming, which includes a drop-in, food bank, community kitchens and gardens, community advocacy, urban agriculture, food education programs, and markets. At both its 1884 Davenport and Wychwood Barns locations, The Stop is a place where good food builds health and community, maintains dignity, and challenges inequality.

Led by President and CEO Nick Saul and Vice-President of National Programs Kathryn Scharf, Community Food Centres Canada will build on the success of The Stop’s aforementioned model, launching a fundraising campaign this year that will drive the development of 15 centres across Canada by 2017. CFCC’s first partner site—The Table Community Food Centre in Perth, Ontario—launched in January 2012. A second centre is set to open in Stratford this spring. CFCC will support all of its centres in several key organizational areas, including fundraising, capacity-building, and training and evaluation, with the goal of building a nationwide network of responsive and financially stable community food centres.

Click here to view the Executive Director job posting.

For more information on the replication project and the community food centre model, please visit www.learningnetwork.thestop.org.

Seed-saving workbee, Jan. 10
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Stop's seed exchange project held a seed-saving workbee in our greenhouse last week, and Jan Keck took the loveliest photos there.

Davenport Public Meeting
Thursday, January 5, 2012

Davenport Public Meeting

Thursday, January 12th, 2012, 7:00 p.m.

Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood & Community Health Centre (1900 Davenport Rd.)

Are you worried about cuts to childcare, recreation centers, libraries, TTC, shelters and school nutrition programs? Voice your concerns to Ward 17 - Davenport councillor Cesar Palacio 

From January 17th to 19th, City Council will vote on the 2012 budget. We are in danger of losing nearly $90 million in services. This is our last chance to raise our concerns and speak out.

Featuring speakers on childcare, transportation & social housing. TTC provided.

For more info contact Mark Woodnutt at 416-652-7867 ext. 235.

*This event is a lead-up to the city-wide “Final Budget Showdown” Rally and Action happening on Tuesday, January 17th at 5pm at City Hall. For more information on the rally, visit www.torontostopthecuts.com

Fresh Stories, by Dan Yashinsky
Wednesday, December 28, 2011

This summer, The Stop received a Community Arts grant from the Toronto Arts Council to hire me as your first-ever Storyteller-in-Residence. I’ve spent July and August visiting programs, telling stories, listening to stories, and slowly planting the seeds for a Stop-wide storytelling project. Along the way, I’ve visited Sabor Latino, Healthy Beginnings, a volunteer recognition dinner, Global Roots, the Greenhouse Volunteers, Seeds and Stories (a gardening and storytelling program at Hillcrest Park). I’ve also been at Good Food Market, and am proud to announce that Mary Milne, a dedicated member of the Stop community, created a beautiful new banner that says “Fresh Stories.” At the market, I’ve also had a chance to spend time with the ESL group, swapping stories (most recently, some pretty spooky ones from Mexico!). One of my greatest pleasures is listening to the many people who are part of The Stop’s amazing urban village. Everyone seems to have a story, a proverb, a song to share. On my very first day, I met Tutu Ebofin, an agronomist from Nigeria, who told me some wonderful Yoruba folktales as she planted African thyme. I’ve since heard stories from El Salvador, the Philippines, China, Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, Pakistan, and more.All of these stories carry their own potent wisdom, and should be shared not only within our own community but with the whole city. I’ll be continuing the residency for the next few months, gathering stories for a collection about generosity (The Stop’s key value, I think), social justice, transformation, and, of course, food. I look forward to hearing your stories! Please dan_yashinsky [at] hotmail [dot] com (email me) if you’d like to be involved in this story-collecting project.

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