COMMUNITY OUTREACH

The service you receive with a warm smile is almost as refreshing as that first bite of fresh, home-made sourdough goodies that she bakes up every morning. While the bakery is located on Dundas Street East (at the corner of Dundas and Washington/ Burwell), it has grown from its humble beginnings in what vande Leygraaf described as a ridiculously small project in her 46 square food commercial kitchen in her home She said she’s always loved being in the kitchen and has had a special fascination with baking bread. Some might say she’s perfected that fascination and if you don’t believe me, try it out for yourself. She sells every combination/flavour of sourdough bread your imagination can dream up.

“Whether someone needs to feel loved and cared about or could use a free loaf to help lighten the financial burden in a small way, we want to be there,” she added

But if that loaf of bread isn’t enough, Paris residents are fortunate enough to have several food banks to utilize when times are tough.

Friends of the Little Pantry

Friends of the Little Pantry is another resident-driven initiative that started in 2019 out of a basic desire to make sure everyone has food in their cupboard. This pantry is not funded by government grants or private donors, just a group of residents who want to make sure everyone is adequately fed. Sometimes the donations come from the owners of local grocers, sometimes they are donated leftovers from a community event, maybe it’s a donation from an area church and sometimes it’s stocked with extra produce grown in someone’s backyard and placed with love on the pantry shelves. The compassion that pours from those shelves is enough to warm your heart on the coldest winter day

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