Three groups offering free meals and more to Cloverdale’s less fortunate citizens have suspended operations for the next couple of months.
One is the hot lunch offered at noon every Thursday by Shepherd’s House Society’s Inner City Mission, at Pacific Community Church at 5337 180 Street.
Cloverdale Korean Presbyterian Church pastor Clara Soohyun Choi told patrons and volunteers their weekly soup kitchen will not resume until December at the earliest.
Monday and Wednesday night cafes offered by the Pacific Community Church community, and Cloverdale Christian Fellowship, respectively, are also on hold.
Major renovations are underway at Pacific Community Church, the host church, where a community kitchen is being constructed as part of a massive campaign.
Once complete, it’s hoped the kitchen will enhance existing soup kitchen initiatives and lead to other programs. A commercial kitchen is needed so food can be safely stored, prepared, cooked and served on the premises of the church, which also acts as a nerve centre for the annual Cloverdale Christmas Hamper program, which assists hundreds of local families and individuals each holiday season.
“We expect to have this space opened by the end of November, and maybe a soft opening through to the end of Christmas season,” Alan Cadwell, director of Facility Development said. Until recently, between 70 and 100 hot meals a week were being distributed, he said.