10 February 2011
Letter from Alderman Mar
Feb. 10, 2011
Bill Locke Coalition Manager Capacity Builders 807- 21 Ave. NW Calgary, AB T2M 1K5
cc: Steering Committee
Food n More Project: Marilyn Gunn, Community Kitchen Program
Byron Price, St. Vincent de Paul
Jim des Roche, Alberta Council of Disability Services
Jim Moore, Calgary Dream Centre
Gord Young, Potential Place
Dr. Joel Christie, FCSS, City of Calgary
Steven Law, Calgary Alternative Support Services
Lori Paine, Calgary Seniors Resource Centre
Tammy Summerfeldt, Star Produce
Joe Ammirati, Gordon Food Services
Bill Locke:
I am writing to express my support for the Food n More Project.
Food n More Project will establish a social enterprise focused on procurement, warehousing, distribution and delivery of food and other products that meet basic needs to the hungry in our community.
This project will achieve the following objectives that will assist the food insecure and those at risk of homelessness;
- Bulk food: coordinated purchasing and centralized warehousing
- Food supply: access to producers and wholesalers
- Accessible: community-wide decentralized distribution and delivery
- Link arms with a wide variety of social and health services to increase coordination of service delivery
- Cost-savings-at least 20-30% on all food items
The Food n More Project is an innovative, social the poor and homeless out of dependence on
- food insecurity.
This project is an initiative of the Calgary Collective Community Response to Homelessness Coalition. The Coalition is a cross-sectoral collaboration, which leverages resources 1n the community to addressing needs among members of our community struggling with meeting their most basic needs. The purpose of the Coalition: to prevent and reduce poverty, address basic issues that lead to homelessness and move these at- risk individuals towards self-sufficiency and full participation in Canadian society.
The Coalition consists of funders, private sector and community organizations and other stakeholders representing numerous sectors involved in serving the needs of the homeless, including
- Family and Community Social Services, City of Calgary- funder and social planning department (municipal government)
- Produce Marketing Association of Calgary private organizations that market and sell fresh fruit and vegetables (umbrella organization)
- Alberta Council of Disability Services Disability sector (umbrella organization)
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul -Absolute Homeless sector (service agency) Community Kitchen Program- Family Homeless sector (service agency)
- Potential Place Mental Health sector (service agency)
- Calgary Alternative Support Services- Mental Health and Disability sectors (service agency)
- Calgary Dream Centre Addictions Homeless sector (service agency)
- Sonshine Community Services Domestic Violence Homeless sector (service agency)
The project will also serve as a model for addressing food insecurity and meeting of basic human needs.
As a member of Council, I have been a part of many initiatives that benefit both the homeless and the hungry. Your work here will go a long way to meeting my goals on Council of ensuring a greater quality of life for all Calgarians.
All of the agencies participating in the Coalition, whose leaders sit on the Project Steering Committee, have many years experience with community projects. All have
- An established track record operating one or more social enterprises (for five years or more) that provide a supportive work environment for persons living with severe mental illness;
- A proven track record working with and serving people who are in poverty, homeless or at risk of homelessness;
- Demonstrated capacity to successfully manage demonstration or pilot projects. Community Kitchen Program, which will serve as lead agency, has over 20 years experience related to food social enterprises, including food procurement, warehouse operations, distribution, and skill-based training. As fiscal agent, Community Kitchen Program will also provide project management, has appropriate administrative and financial systems in place in order to monitor, evaluate and report on pilot project outcomes and costs. St. Vincent de Paul, which will serve as one of the operational partners for this project, has been involved in service delivery to this client population through food delivery, wraparound services and referrals for over 25 years.
Working together, we can ensure that the food insecure and homeless in Calgary and area will receive the supports that others take for granted. I hope you will support this initiative.
For those who are reading this letter of support, thank you for your consideration. If you have any additional questions1or need more information, feel free to contact Bill Locke. Coalition Manager.
Most respectfully,
John York Mar
Alderman, Ward 8
About the Author
Alderman Mar
John was born and raised in Calgary and resides in Ward 8 where he is raising his young family. John has a history of commitment to public service and community involvement. He served as the President of the Scarboro Community Association and also served as Chair of the Sunalta/Scarboro Coalition for Safer Communities in 2006.
John Mar is currently serving his second term as Alderman for Ward 8 of the City of Calgary. John has found that representing Ward 8 Residents has been a most exciting and rewarding challenge and he has gained a tremendous amount of experience in policy and decision-making on Calgary City Council.
John’s strong commitment to reducing crime and to making our streets safer began before working in municipal government. A former Member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), John trained at Depot Division and was posted to Burnaby, British Columbia where he worked as a “beat cop”.
John earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dalhousie University and King’s College, in Halifax, Nova Scotia and also attended North-eastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts under the New England-Nova Scotia Exchange Program.
John’s passion for public service and his commitment to community led him to first run to be your Alderman for Ward 8 in 2007. After a second successful campaign John was elected with an unprecedented 53% of the popular vote, and given the opportunity by the people of Ward 8 to continue to dedicate his time and energy to City Hall to help make our city truly a wonderful place to live, work and play.
Since being elected in 2007, John has remained dedicated to working with his constituents to find real solutions to the City’s on-going challenges. Most notably, John is a strong advocate for affordable housing, re-investment in Inner City development and infrastructure and, of course, safer streets and communities for all of Calgary.
Currently, John serves as a Member to the following Standing Policy Committees: Land Use & Planning, Land & Asset Strategy, the Emergency Management Committee as well as serving a two-year term on the Calgary Police Commission as a Member of Governance and Policy, and Complaints Oversight. John has also been appointed Chairman of the Special Standing Policy Committee of Community & Protective Services. John has also served on the Leadership Committee of the City of Calgary’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness, Transit Public Safety Audit Sub-Committee and the Audit Sub-Committee on Snow and Ice Control as well as the Standing Policy Committee on Finance and Corporate Services and the Standing Policy Committee on Audit, thus gaining a valuable insight on many facets of the detailed workings of the Corporation.
John is an active member of the Board of Directors for Simon House; The Progressive Conservative Electoral District Association for Calgary-Buffalo; and for The Member of Parliament for Calgary-Centre.
John Mar has built a strong reputation for being accessible and accountable to his constituents and for his ability to build effective links between various interest groups and citizens in addressing the issues facing Ward 8 communities.