Preston group building sheds and filling them with free food

A huge cheer cut through the damp air on Tuesday afternoon when the ribbon was cut to officially open a new community food hub in the Halifax-area Black community of Cherry Brook.

The Preston Area Food Network has built three wooden food sheds to serve people in the area who are struggling to make ends meet and in need of food and hygiene products.

"We see this as something that will break some of the food insecurity that people are having," said Debbie Simmonds, Preston Area Food Hub co-ordinator.

It's being called a community shelves program and it is funded by Nova Scotia's Department of Community Services. People who come to the sheds or reach out to the organization will not have to give their names to receive any of the free non-perishable food items or toiletries.

"It's important for this to be anonymous," said Ken Hudson, president of the Preston Area Food Network. "We just need to know what's going off of the shelves so we can replenish it as soon as possible."

The new food shed in Cherry Brook is a wooden structure with a small steel roof. Inside it has several shelves. It will eventually be outfitted with solar panels to provide electricity.

"Eventually, we will be looking at how we can grow this so maybe one day we will have produce, where maybe we have greenhouses where we can grow our own vegetables," said Hudson, who cut the ribbon in front of an enthusiastic crowd of volunteers.

"The goal is to grow these community shelves so we become more than just a spot to pick up non-perishables."

The new food shed is located next to the Cherry Brook United Baptist Church.

"It will impact a lot of people in our community, and outside our communities, too," said church clerk Sally Beals. "Especially for the three Black communities, this is a big achievement that we're doing."

While the Cherry Brook food shed is open now, two other sheds are nearing completion in nearby North Preston and East Preston. The North Preston food shed is across from Nelson Whynder Elementary School, while the East Preston facility is adjacent to the baptist church on Upper Partridge River Road.

"Food insecurity has been an ongoing problem that we've had here in this area," said Simmonds. "In order to address it we need something right here in our own community so people now don't have to travel far to get what they really need."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.