Highway Community Kitchen

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

To end the introductions of the HCK coordinators, last but never least,

Meet Tracy!

Tracy joined Highway Community Kitchen about four months after we first opened.

At least we think she did.

She is a wee bit on the shorter side. So short that the first day she stood on the other side of the counter, we didn’t actually see her.

We see her now.

In fact, Tracy is pretty hard to miss. She works circles around the rest of us and seems to have an endless supply of ideas about what HCK should do next.

Because of Tracy, we have BBQ fundraisers, a website and birthday celebrations for our guests. A business volunteer program.

And then there were the eggs.

We had a 12,600 dozen eggs give away.
In the winter.
During what seems, in our collective memory, to have been a blizzard.
In large part to Tracy never thinking it couldn’t be done.

Tracy can make a wonderful meal out of almost anything. Give her a squash and you’ll get squash soup, squash bread, squash cake, squash as a side dish and, just when you think that poor squash has given everything it possibly can, squash sorbet.

So please. That is enough squash for Tracy.

She has delivered food, stoves and freezers to others who needed them or talked somebody else into delivering them when necessary. If something needs to get from one place to another, somehow Tracy will make it happen.

But what makes Tracy so important to our kitchen isn’t everything she gets done.

It’s that she notices.

She notices when one of our guests is hurting and does her best to help. She can’t stand to see a child in need. Birthday celebrations were her idea because sometimes people need more than a meal.
They need to know somebody noticed it was their birthday.
Tracy is also instrumental in getting our Bridging the Gap weekend meal program started.

And that caring doesn’t stop when she leaves the kitchen.

Tracy looks after war graves. She does water testing. She takes on volunteer jobs because she sees something that needs doing. She rescues animals and she rescues people. And she occasionally rescues community kitchens.

She is also a lot of fun. Shopping trips and peak of the markets would be boring without her at the drivers wheel speeding down the highway at 95 km per hour.

She can quite happily dress herself head to toe in Under Armour. When frustrated, her perfectly Facebook appropriate response is “SNAP!” She can reassure you we are not in for a storm because those clouds are going to scamper right past us. And she loves encouraging her grandchildren to learn the value of volunteering at a young age.

And when asked if she had ever wanted to zip-line, Tracy said, NO.

So naturally, Tracy went zip-lining.

That’s Tracy.

She doesn’t just coordinate at Highway Community Kitchen. She is behind almost everything we do. A lot of what she does is visible, but even more happens quietly in the background.

The truth is, without Tracy there wouldn’t be a Highway Community Kitchen.

So if you see this whirlwind today, let her know that while she spends an awful lot of time noticing and caring for everybody else, we see her too.

We love you, Tracy. HCK simply wouldn’t be HCK without you. ❤️

09/05/2026

What a busy day at the kitchen!

Between handing out Bridging the Gap and serving increasing numbers of guests, our little kitchen has certainly been hopping!

🌟 A special shout-out to our amazing volunteers! 🌟And the Coordinators/leads who show on their days off to lend a hand.
You come through the doors ready to lend a hand, tackle whatever needs doing, and support one another with kindness and good humor. On our busiest days, you just keep going — working side by side and making sure the job gets done.

We truly couldn’t do what we do without each and every one of you. Your time, energy, and caring hearts mean more than you know. ❤️

Busy kitchen, growing numbers, and one incredible team pulling together. Thank you, volunteers, for always showing up for HCK and our community! 🙌

09/04/2026

❤️ A warm welcome to Adele! ❤️

We’re very happy to welcome Adele to our Bridging the Gap team!

Adele knows her way around a kitchen, isn’t afraid to jump in and get the work done, and she is fun to be around.
She enjoys a good laugh and likes to joke around, so we have a feeling our Bridging the Gap preparation days have found a great volunteer.

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to prepare our weekly food packages, and having another capable pair of hands in the kitchen will make a real difference.

Welcome, Adele! We’re so glad you’re joining us. ❤️

09/02/2026

Say Hello to Rhiannon!

It was around a year ago that a Rhiannon contacted us about volunteering. We had no idea why she chose us, but we have certainly been fortunate that she did.

She started by showing us all how to cook vegetarian food—and, more importantly, just how good it can actually taste! Then we started getting to know her.

Rhiannon is reliable (as long as dogs are not involved), highly intelligent, computer savvy and, perhaps most importantly, she puts up with the rest of us.

She quickly advanced to leading in the kitchen, and it wasn’t long before we began to realize just how fortunate we were to have her wander through our doors.

Rhiannon has an uncanny knack for getting right to the centre of a problem with one sentence. She can effortlessly bring clarity to just about anything we throw at her—usually while the rest of us are still making it far more complicated than it needs to be.

She is a treat to work with, and we are very glad to have her working alongside us. She shares the same vision the rest of us have for this little kitchen and has helped us move it forward in so many ways.

There is, however, one very important warning:

Never. Ever. Leave your phone unattended around Rhiannon.

Thanks, Rh, for everything you have done, for putting up with us, and for helping us take the kitchen forward. We are very glad you wandered in. ❤️

09/01/2026

❤️ A Warm Welcome to Our Newest Volunteer, Angel! ❤️

We’re so happy to welcome Angel to our little kitchen family!

Although she hasn’t been with us long, Angel is already finding her place in the rhythm of the kitchen. She’s learning the flow, jumping right in when there’s work to be done, and getting to know the wonderful people who make this kitchen what it is.

Every new volunteer brings something special with them, and we’re excited to see Angel’s personality, talents, and heart become part of what we do.

We’re grateful she chose to spend her time helping alongside us, and we hope she feels right at home here.

Welcome aboard, Angel! We’re truly glad you’re here, and we’re looking forward to all the good things ahead! ❤️

08/30/2026

We are so pleased to introduce Arlene!

If you want to know the Highway Community Kitchen story, you need to know a little about Arlene.

Arlene has been here from the very beginning, when the kitchen started with a somewhat full freezer, no money, the support of Highway Pentecostal Church and no real idea of what it would someday become. But a crazy amount of hope.

From those early days, Arlene has known she is doing God’s work. She doesn’t need to talk a lot about that or be noticed for what she does. She simply shows up and lives it.

Arlene is an incredible cook and isn’t afraid to try something new. It will always be delicious. She and Howard are a team, and both of them have given countless hours to this kitchen.

She’s also our treasurer, and nobody watches over HCK’s money with the accuracy she does. She knows how many meals we’ve served, what they cost before and after donations, where the bargains are and where every penny went. Every penny, needs repeating.

Receipts are never optional.

And occasionally when the rest of us become convinced that we absolutely need something we really don’t. Arlene takes a look and gives us a quick “No.” and back on the shelf it goes.
She’s always right.

That’s part of what makes Arlene so special. She is quiet and steady in a kitchen that isn’t always either of those things. She doesn’t need to be out front or receive the credit.

She may not be the person wrapping a scarf around a guest’s neck on a cold winter day, but she makes sure we have the scarves.

Arlene makes sure there is always enough. Importantly she makes sure we will still be able to do tomorrow what we are doing today.

She is quieter than many of us, but when she speaks, we listen. And when we speak she listens to. She shows up, does what needs doing, and quietly makes sure the rest of us can keep doing it too. She is a large part of the hard work, and the fun and laughter.

That’s Arlene. Steady, practical, generous, witty, incredibly kind, so much fun, and very loved.

So if you see Arlene today, let her know she is seen and she is appreciated. Because without her, there simply wouldn’t be a Highway Community Kitchen.

We love you, Ar. You are such an important part of this kitchen. ❤️

08/28/2026

Meet Marlene!

Lots of you already know this incredible lady, and if you do, you know what a wonderful part of our team she is.

For those of you who don’t—get comfy.

Marlene walked into our kitchen and, from Day One, has been stepping up to some incredible challenges. She does it all with compassion, a positive attitude, and an infectious smile.

Some of our favourite Marlene sayings are:

“THAT’S WHAT I’M THINKING!”

“Pitter Patter”

“Processing nicely.”

And my personal favourite…

“Not today.”

Those four sayings are a pretty good little capsule of Marlene. Her positive agreement, her encouragement, her steady progress, and her ability to say, “Enough for today,” are all things we love to hear.

She uses these phrases without realizing how much they lift the rest of us up.

To see Marlene in action is a treat. She has an amazing ability to read the room. She can walk right up to a guest, and before you know it, she has them feeling better. She has an uncanny ability to see a need and then goes about meeting it.

And her ability to cook an excellent meal out of almost nothing? That is something you have to see to believe!

Thank you, Marlene, for bringing us so much joy, for always stepping up, and for letting us lean on you when we need to.

When Marlene is coming in, we know…

HELP IS ON THE WAY, MY DEAR!

If you bump into this lady today, let her know just how special she is. ❤️

08/27/2026

We would like to introduce you to Carol.
Carol is a lady with a strong passion for helping others. Her commitment to this is larger than life itself. You’ll find her cooking, filling out grant applications, picking beans, or processing fruit for the winter. This lady can work!
She can ask you 20 questions in 20 seconds, and if you manage to get through all of those, she probably has five more.
She will tell you she can’t cook while putting a four-course meal on the table.
And her sense of humour does not stop. A good joke—or a really bad one—usually sends her!
Because of Carol’s can-do attitude, the kitchen has gone farther than we ever thought possible. And her vision for its future is definitely not for the faint of heart!
Carol, thank you for showing up—all the time—and for the time, work, heart and dedication you give so freely.
If you see this lady around Oakville or Portage in the next couple of days, say hey—and thanks.

Also you better pray for us becuase she is going to hate this.
We love ya Carol. ❤️

08/25/2026

Thank-you to everyone who has been sharing their garden produce with us.

The fresh vegetables have been used in soups, salads, side dishes and many of the meals we prepare each week. Having such a wonderful variety of fresh produce allows us to serve meals that are not only filling, but nutritious and full of flavour.

We are very grateful to everyone who has thought of our kitchen when their gardens began producing more than they could use.
Your generosity is helping us feed our community.