BANFF – Banff residents can now enjoy a free weekly community meal every Monday night.
This past Monday (March 29), St. George’s-In-The-Pines Anglican Church hosted its second week of Banff Food and Friends, a food security program that provides free meals for local community members and made possible in part by a provincial government grant.
“We want to make this a community event so that every week, 52 weeks a year, if it’s Monday, you can come for dinner and join your friends and be a part of what’s going on,” said Rev. Howard Thornton.
Banff Food and Friends will run every Mondays from 5 – 7 p.m. Meals are takeout only at this point; however, there are hopes if restrictions are lifted that dine-in community events will be hosted.
Anyone can come and pick up a delicious three-course meal package for free, although donations are welcome. Additional snacks are provided, such as fruit, buns, and cookies.
This past Monday’s meal included a turkey stew with cream sauce, basmati rice and salad, as well as a vegetarian option of chickpea ragout.
Chef Beat Hegnauer said meal plans for this coming Easter weekend include baked ham as an option. Hegnauer is the lead chef preparing meals with Banff Food and Friends and was formerly the executive chef with The Banff Centre’s award-winning culinary team.
Request for additional funding was made after a review of the building’s deteriorating facilities. St. George-in-the-Pines is the oldest active church in Banff, with services held as early as 1887.
Government of Alberta funding provided $75,200 in March 2019 toward the renovations, which allowed the church to replace kitchen equipment, plumbing, wiring, install new flooring, and bring the building’s washroom facilities up to code, including a barrier-free accessible unit.
“Our facilities weren’t in very good shape, but now they’re all up to standard. We didn’t want to wait any longer to get the food program going,” said Thornton.
Support from the province’s Community Facilities Enhancement Program (CFEP) is given to enhance the lifespan and support creation of public-use community facilities. Funding is approved on a matching basis, such that applicants must contribute an amount equal or exceeding grant requests towards project expenses.
“We did a whole scope of work … we also painted in here and did what we could,” said Mark Marino of Marino Construction Services Ltd., lead contractor with the church’s renovations.
“It’s been a struggle for [the church] to raise money, but it’s a good community effort and we’ve enjoyed being involved,” said Marino.
Thornton and Stephen Crotty, Chief Operating Officer with YWCA Banff and project manager on the church’s renovations, coordinated applications for provincial funding.
“Howard and I put together the grant and that came to fund roughly 80 per cent of the project cost,” said Crotty.
Banff Food and Friends is made possible in part by a collaboration with the YWCA Banff. Additional funding came from Rotary Club of Canmore and private donors.
“All these folks are interested in the same things we are, which is building community and also trying to make sure people have a place to go with a friendly atmosphere and find some good food as well,” said Thornton.
“We’re going to start getting the word out and find a niche where we’re doing good as far as food sustenance in the community, but also that social gathering space without any barriers to access,” said Crotty.
There are still plans to create a barrier-free entrance for accessibility and have the floors of the gymnasium space resurfaced.
“We’re looking at making [the gymnasium] beautiful again and turn it into a community area. Once we move past this COVID situation, we can move toward making this a real gathering space for interaction for the entire community.”
“It’s open for everybody. It started with an idea piggybacking on St. Michael's program in Canmore, which has been a huge success.”
Banff Food and Friends is a sister program of Canmore Food and Friends hosted at St. Michael's Anglican Church. From its beginning in February 2013 until October 2020, the Monday night community event has served more than 90,000 meals. It has been a popular and succesful program in the community.
“I think that there will be an equal response to the program here,” said Thornton, who was also involved with Canmore Food and Friends.
Thornton and others had plans to host a community food program in Banff for several years prior to the pandemic.
“We originally thought we would have tables here,” said Thornton. “Of course, we can’t have that right now, but we’re working toward that.”
“People loved the flavour of the food and they find the place welcoming. The idea is to provide good nutritious flavourful meals, but also to help build community.”
Feedback by residents from the Town of Banff’s 2018 Community Social Assessment report, highlighted cost of living as the priority issue in Banff, including a need for more “affordable and healthy food.” As well, residents expressed a desire for more indoor and outdoor “community hubs” with easy accessibility.
“In the Town of Banff report, they spoke about the need for more social cohesion. This is our first step toward that,” said Rev. Thornton.
Food security has remained a challenge for residents in the Bow Valley for years, but the pandemic brought the issue to the forefront.
“I’m very happy that this is something I can volunteer for and I think it’s a good idea,” said Branden VanTassell, a volunteer with Banff Food and Friends.
“I hope that it’s helpful for people and that they enjoy the food,” they said.
Safe distancing is required on arrival, as well as the use of masks, sanitizing on entry, and providing information for contact tracing. It is encouraged users bring their own takeout containers.
St. George’s in the Pines is located at 100 Beaver St., Banff. Email [email protected] for information on how to get involved.
