Hope House Guelph
As a branch of Lakeside church, Hope House has been serving the Guelph community through a variety of initiatives. Hope House offers over 19 programs and services that range from a food market to counselling services. As a producer of food, Wellington Greens aims to support Hope House in their desire to improve food insecurity.
The Food Market
The Hope House food market ensures that everyone can have access to nutritious food and supplies. The market features a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy, hygiene products, and cleaning products. The initiative is a choice-based system whereby people are not required to present a certain level of income to qualify for the market. Hope House believes that if someone needs food or supplies, they should not be forced to prove that they are in need of food or other essentials.
When someone enters the food market, they are given a certain number of “bucks” to spend. The individual is then forced to budget their purchases based on the number of bucks that they receive.This system encourages empowerment by creating a space where people can practice budgeting skills based on how many bucks they received. Additionally, this system also takes away the idea that the people using the service feel as though they are receiving a free hand out.
Wellington Greens has been supporting the food market at Hope House since early 2022 through the donation of lettuce. As a business, we believe that access to nutritious vegetables is extremely important in fostering a healthy community. We believe that Hope House has developed a system that improves food insecurity within the Guelph community and we have a desire to support them. If you know of any businesses that are able to offer their products to the food market please contact donations@hopehouseguelph.ca to get in touch. If you feel inclined to donate to the Hope House, please use the link below to donate to one of the initiatives.