Tiny Home Takeout turns four and growing with the need

Tiny Home Takeout is turning four this year, and while it’s happy to grow it is also because of a rise in food insecurity in Waterloo Region.

The organization launched during the pandemic, aiming to provide meals to anyone in need. It created the first blue and white tiny home in front of St. Mary Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows Roman Catholic Church on Duke Street in Kitchener.

The volunteers cook all the meals in the basement of that church that invested in a full commercial kitchen and hired Head Chef, Amy Cyr.  

“Being in a position where we can help everybody is fantastic but at the same time seeing the need increase means that there’s a bigger problem then any one organization can handle,” Cry said in an interview with CityNews Kitchener.

“The people that are showing up, that number is increasing. The amount of money it takes to run the program increases and so as much as we’ve been able to sustain it all and be proud of our successes, it also comes with the other side of things where it clearly means food insecurity is clearly on the rise.”

In those four years, Tiny Home Takeout has expanded to a second location in Kitchener. In 2023, it opened a second Tiny Home Takeout at the Stanley Park Community Centre.

They have various chefs who like to stay creative, changing up the calzone specials or daily bite menu.

Cyr mentioned the order food is similar to a restaurant allowing them to always have fresh produce.

“We do everything from scratch, half of our orders every week are fresh produce that’s going into salads during the summertime, soups, stews and warm dishes in the wintertime.”

Tiny Home Takeout also helps provide meals to local shelters if there is extra at the end of the day and delivers to local churches and ministries that help people experiencing homelessness. On Saturdays, the organization provides weekly dinners to the folks staying at the King Street shelter.

The volunteers rely on donations to make it all happen. Cyr said they get donations from various community groups, churches and sponsors. The community can also go to their website to donate.

Along with the growth in need, they’ve also seen their volunteers grow from 30 to about 250.

One of those is Judy Scholtz, whose been there since day one and said it’s been amazing watching how the community has rallied together.

“There are times when I feel embarrassing, I’m volunteering because I’m having so much fun here.”

Another longtime volunteer, Heather Motz, enjoys working with the other volunteers, feeling supported by the community.

“It’s expanded a lot, Judy and I make pizza dough together every Tuesday morning, we make about 450 pieces in the summer. We’re down to about 300 in the winter,” Motz added.

“We have so much fun with it, and we know that people outside appreciate it, which is really nice. The community is fabulous here.”

Open Tuesday to Saturday at the location downtown Kitchener, the community is invited to “grab a bite, give if you can.”