Item - 2021.EC24.11

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council request the Province of Ontario to continue to support community-driven and community-informed food security initiatives in the City of Toronto like 5n2 Kitchens through the Government of Ontario's Social Services Relief Fund.

2.  City Council request the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to work with the Canadian Medical Association Foundation, the Scheinberg Relief Fund and other organizations with funding sources to explore extending their funding to food security organizations in the City of Toronto like 5n2 Kitchens.

3.  City Council request the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to report to the December 1, 2021 meeting of the Economic and Community Development Committee on the actions taken to engage the Province of Ontario, the Canadian Medical Association Foundation, the Scheinberg Relief Fund and other organizations with funding sources as outlined in Recommendations 1 and 2 above.

At its May 26, 2021 meeting, the Economic and Community Development Committee requested that Corporate Real Estate Management and Social Development, Finance and Administration to apply the City of Toronto's Community Space Tenancy Policy and the appropriate granting process to the request in Motion MM32.9 regarding the community agency, 5n2 Kitchens, and report back in September 2021. This request is in response to the pending expiry of the agency's current lease at the end of 2021 and a desire to find a long-term City space for 5n2 Kitchens.

Since 2013, 5n2 Kitchens has served 474,000 people, feeding families across Scarborough. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 5n2 Kitchens has worked with several agencies, schools and communities to address hunger in Scarborough communities. The agency currently serves 3,500 residents with food packages per week in an area encompassing: the Don Valley Parkway and Woodbine Avenue to the west, Danforth Avenue to the south, Finch Avenue to the north and Port Union Road to the east.

This report summarizes the actions taken in response to the Economic and Community Development Committee's request.