NEARLY MIRACULOUS!

I'm a believer in the Rule of Unintended Consequences.  I learned that rule mostly from the negative perspective, when plans and intentions have back-fired and left me scratching my head about how a good idea could have such a bad result.

And then, every now and again, there are outcomes that strike me as truly miraculous and I am reminded that the Rule of Unintended Consequences also has a beneficial side.

About a year ago, the Board of Directors of the Owen Sound Hunger and Relief Effort (OSHaRE) committed to a plan that would eventually see the operation move from its inaugural home in the basement of the Harmony Centre, to its current location at 946 - 3rd Avenue East.  The plan resulted in the building of a custom designed space in which to receive, process, store, cook and serve large quantities of food.  The new location has a state of the art kitchen, paid for by the local chapter of Kiwanis; it has a walk-in freezer, a walk-in fridge and a lot of storage space.  In short it has everything OSHaRE needed to serve a hot supper meal five days a week and a take-out lunch on Saturday.

Now for the miraculous part.

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared on March 11, OSHaRE was deemed an essential service.  It quickly transitioned from its model of daily serving 80 to 100 hot suppers in a sit-down dinner setting, to a 100% take-out lunch and supper offering.  With the support of other community partners, corporate and individual donors, OSHaRE has transformed itself into a community hub that has prepared and provided an astounding 1652 take-out meals in the last seven days.

It seems that all the forethought and planning that went into the design of the new location has had the unintended consequence of providing the capacity to ramp up meal services needed during the pandemic.  No one ever planned for that eventuality and yet, here we are with a facility and program that is living into its mission: what we have, we will share.

Another miraculous element is the commitment and dedication of the people that make OSHaRE go: the staff of Colleen, Jeff and Diana are the heart of the operation.  And the dozens of volunteers and donors - they, are the soul.  Our community is the body.

We couldn't be better served if we had planned it this way.

Pat