Youth meal program looks for permanent location amid pending Elks Hall demolition

Two years after moving in, they’re moving out.

In January 2022, Access Youth started running their meal kit program out of Elks Hall in Leigh Square alongside the People’s Pantry. However, with demolition imminent, the non-profit is once again looking for a space a non-profit can afford.

“The People’s Pantry has been an invaluable partner,” said Access Youth executive director Jennifer Blatherwick. “Without the People’s Pantry offering us that space, we would’ve had to spend a big chunk of that budget on overhead.”

Currently delivering about 49 meals a week, Access Youth’s gour-made team works like a mix between Hello Fresh and a crash course in culinary school. Volunteers deliver meals kits as well as recipes to young people who learn to chop, measure, and cook for their whole family.

Sharing space with People’s Pantry was beneficial for both groups, according to Blatherwick, who explained that any extra ingredients could be shared.

“Us having to separate is an unfortunate downgrade in our ability to best serve those kids,” she said. “It makes me very sad.”

Access Youth is tentatively scheduled to be out of Elks Hall by January 26.

Looking for new space is often a challenge, Blatherwick said.

“There’s not a lot of places that are like: ‘Oh, you’re offering a food security program? Let me host you!’”

However, they’ve likely found temporary locations to run meal and employment programs about four days a week, she said.

“Non-profits like us and People’s Pantry . . . cannot survive anywhere in the Lower Mainland, paying commercial-level rent, especially alone.”

Blatherwick said she recently found a property in the Austin Avenue. It was a decent size but the rent was $6,500 a month.

The search for space is emblematic of the trials faced by non-profits, Blatherwick said. It’s the reason she’s hoping a few non-profits might come together to share space.

“There’s no non-profit . . . that can afford $6,500 a month, but four non-profits together might be able to make that work.”