A rewarding recipe

This article was published in April 2021 and may be outdated.

Kitchen equipment plus local charities equals opportunity for Winnipeggers

A happy Paul Moore shows off a large metal bread box surrounded by equipment and furniture in a warehouse.

Paul Moore receives the bread box at ImagineAbility Inc. – an organization which strives to support the independence, abilities and aspirations of individuals living with a disability.

Enlarge image: A happy Paul Moore shows off a large metal bread box surrounded by equipment and furniture in a warehouse.

Seven local community organizations are getting cooking with over 20 appliances donated by Manitoba Hydro.

“It was awesome to receive this,” said Paul Moore of ImagineAbility Inc., who received a donation of a commercial bread box, freezer and toaster. “[These donations] directly help the people we support. The bread box is perfect for one of our individuals to make sandwiches when we are able to have groups of people coming back.”

Employee wearing a non-medical mask rolls a small fridge into a hallway in a Manitoba Hydro building.

Removal of the appliances at the old Chevier Café – one of four Manitoba Hydro cafeterias now being re-purposed.

Enlarge image: Employee wearing a non-medical mask rolls a small fridge into a hallway in a Manitoba Hydro building.

Vacated cafeteria spaces at four of our facilities (820 Taylor Ave., 1315 Notre Dame Ave., 35 Sutherland Ave. and 1840 Chevrier Blvd.), left an opportunity to re-purpose the space – but a quandary of what to do with existing commercial kitchen equipment.

With COVID-19 putting pressure on the restaurant industry, more of these types of equipment are coming into the market and value is dropping. After an attempt to auction the equipment with no bids placed, it became clear that the greatest return would be to donate the equipment to local social agencies and community organizations that could make use of it in their programming.

A man wearing a non-medical mask delivers two small fridges to the front door of the West Broadway Youth Outreach location.

Delivery of two Coca-Cola fridges to West Broadway Youth Outreach.

Enlarge image: A man wearing a non-medical mask delivers two small fridges to the front door of the West Broadway Youth Outreach location.

Winnipeg map identifies the locations of seven community organizations and the equipment they received.

See where we donated 22 pieces of commercial kitchen equipment in Winnipeg.

Enlarge image: Winnipeg map identifies the locations of seven community organizations and the equipment they received.

To ensure safety and compliance with COVID-19 protocols, we moved and delivered all the equipment from our four buildings to the seven community organizations. See infographic.

Additional donations may be available once inventories have been completed at 820 Taylor Ave.