Kitchener’s A Better Tent City celebrates new community kitchen

A Better Tent City in Kitchener is celebrating a new kitchen and shared space.

The community of tiny homes first moved to its site on Ardelt Avenue last winterand now has more amenities to help residents living there feel more comfortable.

“The cafeteria here is great. The food is great,” said George, a resident at ABTC for about five years. “Sitting in your cabin - it’s not all that great when you’re by yourself.”

On Monday a community lunch was held to celebrate the new facility. On the menu was jerk turkey made by Big Jerk Smokehouse in Kitchener.

“The weather has gotten cold so I figured let’s do some turkey. Thanksgiving is around the corner,” said Kevin Thomas the owner of Big Jerk Smokehouse.

The new community kitchen is made up of multiple old portables and will make a big difference when colder weather arrives.

The 50 residents of a Better Tent City have lived at the site since last fall, but the new facilities were not possible when they first moved.

Now after months of work sorting out hydro and water access, there is a commercial kitchen on-site and an area with tables, couches, chairs and bookshelves.

David Butler of Alair Kitchener Waterloo was the volunteer lead project manager and said 10 to 15 companies were involved in various aspects of the project — and anyone he contacted agreed to help even though it was happening during one of the busiest seasons in the construction industry.

“They said ‘We’re all in.’ And they dropped what they were doing and they donated their time and their money and the materials. Or some of the smaller outfits would do it at cost,” said Butler.

Laura Hamilton, who helps with food at a Better Tent City, said this new facility is a game changer.

“Imagine, we survived the winter with an event tent, a thin canvas event tent that was open on one end,” Hamilton said.

She said people would come in and grab food before hastily taking it back to their cabins.

“Really, the community didn’t have a heart," Hamilton said. "So the shared space has created that."