Halifax community hub adds retail space to combat food insecurity

Stephanie Tsicos visits Upward Kitchen and Cafe at The Nook, a community hub with a goal of combatting food insecurity in Halifax.

Upward Kitchen and Café at the Nook is adding a retail store to its community hub that will be committed to combatting food insecurity in Halifax.

Chef Mark Brand is a social impact entrepreneur who’s been building charitable businesses, including Upward which has locations on the West Coast and partners in the U.S., but now he’s turned his attention to food insecurity in Halifax.

“We make about 1,500 meals a day for kids in need as well as our partners, North End Community Health Centre and all the other organizations close,” Brand said.

The retail store is his latest venture. It will sell frozen meals, fresh meals, coffee and baked goods for people on a budget. It’s all made possible through the business’s partners, including East Coat Credit Union.

Charlotte Jewer is a Community Engagement Specialist with the East Coast Credit Union. They’re mandated to give 10 per cent back to community and their members tell them where to invest the money. Jewer said they wanted to be involved in the Nook when they heard Brand speak about the project.

“Food security was a huge, huge thing,” she said.

Chef Brand is originally from Dartmouth, N.S. He said he’s been showing local organizations how to do impact work in the province for 10 years.

“It was always going to be a matter of time before I came home,” Brand said.

When the homeless crisis worsened, the North End Community Health Centre reached out to Brand. He built a small kitchen that mirrors the one he runs on the west coast where they do 2,500 hundred meals a day and employ people who were homeless, coming from recidivism or working with disabilities.

“So those structures are needed here, so we started building that,” Brand said. Upward Kitchen and Café employs 10 staff so far.

“We also have volunteers coming from our offices every week,” Jewer said. “So they come in and every Friday they get their hands dirty. They help make the food.”

The credit union has made a five-year commitment to the project. Their volunteers have been in the kitchen for a year and a half. Brand said their support helps the Nook keep the quality high and the prices low.

“We don’t answer to any shareholders. We only answer to stakeholders and that’s our community.”

Alongside the credit union, the Nook’s partners are Feed Nova Scotia, Shelter Nova Scotia and North End Community Health Centre. They received help from IKEA building their store.

Brand said all the partnerships are about galvanizing the community to be best in service. He said they make their contribution by focusing on food and food alone.

“We know exactly what we do best and we’re just excited to do more of it.”

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