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Downtown breakfast program pulls up stakes at bus terminal, heads across the street

'We weren’t officially asked, but we were told there were complaints,' says volunteer Christine Nayler, as program moves from bus terminal to Salvation Army parking lot

Breakfast on the Go is on the move.

After a week serving up nutritious breakfast options for Barrie’s homeless community outside of the downtown bus terminal, the initiative, led by volunteer Christine Nayler, will now be setting up across the street in the Salvation Army parking lot.

Nayler was told by the city that they had received complaints about them serving breakfast in front of the Maple Avenue terminal and that it was causing more work for staff due to garbage being left in the warming centre as well as the additional people the program was attracting to the bus terminal.

“We weren’t officially asked, but we were told there were complaints. It was only a matter of time before we were asked to leave, so we thought we were better to be proactive and look for another location before we were told to pack up while we were in the middle of serving,” she says.

After making a few calls, Nayler says the Salvation Army generously offered use of its parking lot.

“We feel more welcome here and this morning people were standing and talking to each other… they feel more comfortable in this environment. I think it’s going to work out better for us," she says. 

For the past week, volunteers have been serving upwards of 25 people each day, providing them with a variety of baked goods each morning, along with a hot cup of coffee, water and juice boxes and some even some cheese, yogurt and hard-boiled eggs.

They have also been sending them with a takeaway bag that contains additional baked goods donated by volunteer bakers and local restaurants, cheese, fresh fruit and a juice box, so they can have some nourishment later in the day as well.

The move will unfortunately bring some restrictions. The program will no longer be allowed to serve baked goods that are not prepared in a commercial kitchen, which means moving forward they will be unable to accept baking that is prepared at home. 

“We can’t serve anything that was baked at home, which is the normal thing church women like to do. We bake and we share, and that was the most popular item in the breakfast we were serving because they don’t get baking anymore,” Nayler says.

That said, the initiative can accept baking from restaurants and cafes or that are store bought and two downtown restaurants  The Lazy Tulip and Bohemia  have stepped up to help and will be baking muffins for the program once a week.


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About the Author: Nikki Cole

Nikki Cole has been a community issues reporter for BarrieToday since February, 2021
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