Sustaining Burlington’s Communities

"…our work focuses on uplifting the community in a dignified, respectful way.”

By Shannon Shuell

I work at Open Doors as the Community Resource Manager and my connection to the organization began five years ago when I started as the Good Food Coordinator. Having grown up in Burlington, I was not aware of the food insecurity happening in the neighbourhoods I live in.

This experience brought to light realities I hadn’t previously seen in our community—and now I can’t unsee them. Over the past five years, I’ve witnessed how much our programs have had to change, adapt, and grow to meet increasing demand.

I appreciate that Open Doors has a strong sense of community—both within the organization and in how we engage with the people we serve. I also value that our work focuses on uplifting the community in a dignified, respectful way.

I love being able to connect with people as they come through our doors—hearing their stories, learning who they are, why they’re here, what they need, and how long they’ve been coming. Some community members have been attending our programs for 20 years. They often contribute where they can.

We even have a 96-year-old who comes in to make coffee. That’s his outing for the week. He comes here and to one other place—he makes coffee, sits down, chats with his friends, and then goes home. You can tell how meaningful it is for him to get out and engage in this way.

Moments like this are why I love connecting with people and understanding what they’re gaining from our programs. It helps us continue developing better ways to serve them.

Our organization is committed to nourishing the Burlington community by ensuring everyone has access to fresh, healthy meals. I would love to see us better keep up with the growing demand.

I’d also like to see more community connection initiatives. This is something we’re focusing on this year. We’ve had great success partnering with other food banks and organizations like Support House, which help expand what we’re able to offer.

For example, Support House brings their mobile van on Tuesdays, which has been incredibly valuable for our community—providing services we wouldn’t otherwise be able to offer. Similarly, with our garden space, we now partner with the Burlington Food Bank, whose gardener supports us in maintaining the space.

Our garden is becoming an ecological and accessible space, with pollinator plants, composting systems, irrigation, and accessibility mats so everyone can participate—planting, harvesting, or weeding. We never lock the garden; we believe that if someone needs the food, they should take it.

Everything we harvest supports our food bank and kitchen programs. We also use dehydrators and food rescue teams to preserve food for future use. It’s an essential and vibrant part of what we do.

We serve a wide range of people—from families with newborns to seniors up to 96 years old. On an average Tuesday, we regularly see at least four families with children. Recently, we’ve noticed an increase in seniors and single-income households accessing our services.

Interestingly, those who use our food bank are not always the same individuals who attend our meal programs, even though both are offered on the same day. While there is some overlap, about 50% of food bank users do not attend the meals, despite needing food support.

Our vision is to sustain and expand the meaningful work we’ve begun, ensuring it continues to benefit the community for years to come.

We’re seeing an increasing need for mental health support—needs that go beyond our current scope as a food-focused organization. Many people want space to share their stories and receive support. We would love to partner with other organizations to provide consistent mental health services during our program times.

We’ve hosted one-time services from organizations like the YMCA, Goodwill, and others offering employment support, hearing tests, and community connections. While valuable, these are not consistent enough for people to feel fully supported.

We’re exploring ways to build long-term partnerships—so services like hearing tests, employment support, or counselling are available regularly. Before COVID, we partnered with CDH on a program offering weekly 20-minute appointments, and we’d love to see something like that return.

Currently, Support House provides a social worker through their mobile unit, which is helpful, but it doesn’t replace ongoing, deeper support relationships. Increasing this kind of support would benefit both our staff and the community.

We are also evaluating our volunteer base. Our volunteers are incredibly dedicated, but many are between the ages of 70 and 96. We want to ensure they feel supported while also bringing in new volunteers to learn from them and continue their legacy.

We’ve found that being specific in our volunteer requests has made a big difference. When we clearly state needs—such as driving or specific tasks—people respond more readily. Many want to help; they just need clear direction.

First, more local investment in non-profits doing essential work in the community. Additionally, we could offer more wraparound services to better support community members.

We are already grateful for strong partnerships, including having CDH staff onsite. We’re currently developing a volunteer manual to provide clear instructions and expectations, improving transparency and support. We’re also working with CDH on volunteer appreciation and recruitment efforts: initiatives that strengthen our capacity.

Previously, we ran up to 16 programs with six staff members. Due to financial constraints and reduced funding, we’ve had to scale back. With additional staffing, administrative support, and fundraising capacity, we could expand our programs again and serve more people.

In the past year alone, we’ve seen a 47% increase in attendance at our hot meal programs. While we’re grateful to meet this need, it also reflects growing hardship in the community.

We take pride in offering high-quality meals—not just basic food. For example, one recent meal included stuffed portobello mushrooms with taco filling, a balsamic salad, and lemon squares. Providing meals like this is meaningful—but the increased demand is also a sobering reminder of the challenges many are facing.

As one community member put it: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Many people are unaware of the level of need in our community until they encounter it directly. Increasing awareness is essential—whether among residents, policymakers, or community leaders.

Story curated by Phillip McAllister

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This post is part of a larger CDH Member Story Project. The intent is to share the depth of our non-profit sector, name how community can support and imagine together what is possible through the non-profit sector to ensure Halton is a health, inclusive and resilient place to live.

Are you a CDH member and want to let your story to the project. You can get started HERE.