ABOUT OUR FOOD PILLAR.
Food Services
At SUMS Place Society, we provide nutritious meals that nourish the body and restore energy as our guests move towards stability, independence, and hope for the future.
— OUR FOOD PHILOSOPHY
Our Kitchen
Three meals a day, every day, for every guest staying with us — cooked from seasonal, dietician-approved menus and served with care.
181,000+
MEALS SERVED IN 2025
145,299+
LBS. OF DONATED FOOD
FROM THE COMMUNITY
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SUMS Place got its start in 1995 as a small community kitchen, run out of a church basement by a group of dedicated Christian women who simply wanted to make sure their neighbours had a hot meal.
Three decades later, we're still guided by that same purpose. From shelter meals to our To-Go program, everything we make in the kitchen today traces back to those original roots: nutritious food, prepared with care, for everyone who needs it, so no one in our community goes hungry.
How it works...
Every guest who stays with us receives three meals a day, prepared in our kitchen and delivered to our additional shelter sites: The Olive Branch & The Cove. We're moving toward fully dietician-approved, seasonal menus — built by our kitchen team and the volunteer cooking groups who help serve them.
Donations fund a portion of shelter meals — weekly and monthly donors fill in what our budget can't cover.
Meals are prepared in the SUMS kitchen and delivered daily to our other 2 shelters.
Cooking groups and volunteers are welcome to join meal prep and service.
Bring your group into our kitchen!
We're always looking for groups who'd like to come cook alongside our team. This is a hands-on way to be part of the 181,000+ meals we serve each year.
Contact us at volunteer@sumsplace.ca to get involved today!
To-Go Meals Program
A donor-funded, low-barrier and volunteer-run program open to anyone in our community.
Serving Times
Breakfast
Lunch
8:30am — 9:30am
12:30pm — 1:30pm
Why just breakfast & lunch? Nightshift serves dinner — we work together with community partners so guests are supported around the clock.
26,744
TO-GO COMMUNITY MEALS
SERVED IN 2025
Food security for everyone.
An estimated 1 in 4 Canadians struggle with food security — and it isn't limited to people experiencing homelessness. Many of our neighbours who are housed still need extra support to get by. Our To-Go Meals Program meets people at whatever stage they're at, offering consistent nutrition so they can focus on moving forward in other parts of their lives.
How Can You Help?
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< COMMUNITY KITCHEN HISTORY BIO HERE >
How many meals we serve
Donations are used for our shelter meals, we have people donating weekly and monthly - they buy things for us, anything that doesn’t fit in weekly etc.
Our budget isn’t big enough to cover all shelter meals
3 meals/day for all shelter guests who stay with us
Moving towards dietician approved, seasonal menus, volunteers that help in the kitchen (can link to volunteer page), cooking groups, volunteers help serve meals, all meals currently are served from SUMS kitchen and delivered to other 2 shelters
181,000+ for 2025
Looking for more groups that are wanting to come in & cook → foodservices@sumsplace.ca
If you’re looking donate in-kind food items etc etc
foodservices@sumsplace.ca
Most nutritious, creative to provide solid meals - do our best to build people’s lives through food - support them by having energy in their bodies etc. (Philosophy)
To-Go Meal Program
26,744 (April - Dec 2025)
Donor based, volunteer driven initiative, barrier free, supports people in the community. Could be unhoused, but also people that are housed but need extra support for security. 1 in 4 Canadians struggle in Food Security (double check this stat).
Support people for whatever stage they’re at. To provide consistent meals, nutrition, have that food security to move forward in other areas of their lives.
Not limited to adults - we serve families, children, seniors, everyone is welcome to come to this. Very low barrier, no name, no ID, nothing
Consists of a lunch bag for breakfast & lunch, meal times: 8:30-9:30, 12:30-1:30
Link to what we’re looking for to support this program:
Individual snacks, juice boxes, paper bags
Church groups that have access to commercial kitchen, or come into our kitchen in the evening to make sandwiches (more sandwich support)
We have a church group that cooks 2 hot meals per week
Care packages could also include water & snacks — this will go into our in-kind donations page
Partners & sponsorships for this program
Donate actual food — pizza, mcdonalds, bagels etc. — must arrange date with foodservices@sumsplace.ca
Why do we do breakfast & lunch? Because NightShift makes dinner so we work together with other organizations in order to support the community around us.