Even though The University of Winnipeg campus is quieter in the last weeks of December, Diversity Food Services is as busy as ever.
Being involved in the community is fundamental to who we are at Diversity and what we do. This is one of those outreach pieces that fits into our cultural sustainability goals.
Ian Vickers
When the holiday season arrives, Diversity supports a variety of local organizations. In addition to catering Wii Chiiwaakanak’s annual Holiday Dinner on campus, it also makes large seasonal donations to food banks across Winnipeg.
Diversity also has also been assisting Agape Table’s Easter, Thanksgiving, and holiday dinners for a decade.
Earlier this week, Executive Chef Jessica Young and her team defrosted, roasted, and carved 130 turkeys for the annual dinner.
“Agape feeds about 500 to 700 people a day, so their small kitchen cannot contain that many turkeys,” said Young, noting it took about 100 hours of labour to get the job done. “When I used to work at Elements, I could see a lineup of people waiting for food, so it’s extremely important to be active in the community.”
Chief Operating Office Ian Vickers says being heavily involved in the community is what Diversity is all about.
“Being involved in the community is fundamental to who we are at Diversity and what we do,” he said. “This is one of those outreach pieces that fits into our cultural sustainability goals.”
But Diversity is not just active with the community during the holidays.
Vickers and Young say they’re dedicated to making food more accessible to community members throughout the entire year.
