Toronto chef Rodney Bowers is taking a bite out of a controversial new program designed to give homeless and in-need people access to food through tokens that can be used at participating restaurants.
The program is the vision of Vancouver's Save on Meats owner Mark Brand, who created the token program to, "help Downtown Eastsiders get a helping hand without handing them money they might spend on drugs or booze." Now, he's met with chef Bowers, owner of Toronto restaurants Hey! and Hey Meatball!, to discuss bringing the program to Toronto.
People can buy tokens at participating restaurants and then hand them to a homeless or needy person who can then redeem it for a sandwich.
"I'm really excited about it," Brand told the Province. "People are doing better, they're eating better. I do believe we're doing a good thing."
Not everyone agrees. Brand says it didn't take long for the program to receive criticism. Despite this, he says it's already a success. In one week, 800 tokens were redeemed, including 150 tokens on December 27. He says many people received these tokens as Christmas presents from strangers. The program is highly praised by community organizations such as the Vancouver Women's Health Collective who use the tokens as icebreakers during community outreach initiatives.
Bowers hopes to offer a similar program here in Toronto by late spring or early summer. Yonge Street will follow-up.
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Original source: The Province