ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE FUTURE OF LOVING SPOONFUL
It is with gratitude and also with heavy hearts that we share an important update on the future of Loving Spoonful today.
Loving Spoonful has been an integral part of the Kingston food community for 16 years and our incredible employees and volunteers have contributed an immense amount of work, time, passion and skill to our region. The evolution over the years has been extraordinary: starting as a food rescue and redistribution run entirely by volunteers, growing to work in more than 20 elementary schools with the GROW project, and transforming into the dynamic entity it now is, which includes our numerous Community Kitchens programs, the Kingston Community Gardens Network, the Local Food Access Pay-what-you-can Community Harvest Markets and a Gleaning program; the Community Training Farm, and the Community Harvest Gardens. We couldn’t have accomplished all of this without the support of our local partners and the community within our amazing city.
The current economic landscape has presented funding challenges for many charities across Canada, including Loving Spoonful. After a great deal of careful consideration, the board of Loving Spoonful has come to the difficult decision to cease operations. Throughout this difficult process, we knew we had to ensure that as many of our valuable programs as possible would be preserved and nurtured. We want to assure the Kingston community that there is a formal negotiation happening with a local like-minded organization to continue the wonderful legacy of Loving Spoonful.
Our staff continues to work hard to carry out the current funding that we have been given for current programs that we offer. We want to acknowledge their dedication and hard work to Loving Spoonful. They are a true testament to all that has been accomplished over the years. A special thank you to both current and past employees, their efforts are truly remarkable.
We also want to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers, donors, funders, and partners who have enabled us in supporting Kingston’s food community for almost two decades.
1,550+
Community Members
served at Community
Harvest Markets in 2023
$70K
Value of produce
grown in our Gardens
and at our Community
Training Farm in 2023
204
Community Kitchen
Workshops held
in 2023
$100K
Value of local produce
collected & distributed
through our Gleaning
program in 2023
food sovereignty
All of our programs work towards the goal of food sovereignty:
“Food Sovereignty is the right of peoples and communities to healthy and culturally appropriate food, produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define and control their own food systems.”
– La Via Campesina
Click here to learn more about our vision.
“I’m encouraged that there are so many people committed to positive ecological and social practices. It’s easy to get discouraged when there are so many people being ground down by capitalism. Loving Spoonful is a little corner of the world where people value humans and the environment.”
Community Harvest Participant
