The Centretown Food Centre (CCFC), located at 370 Catherine Street, serves more than 1500 people each month, including a large number of children.  Like all the food banks in Ottawa, they are in constant need of more food and money to meet the growing need. CCFC is accessible. The friendly staff and volunteers make it a welcoming place for everyone.

CCSAC (Centretown Churches Social Action Committee) is a collective of 22 churches in downtown Ottawa, including nine in Centretown.  CCSAC founded the Food Centre in 1978, and it remains its principal project today.  Many of the volunteers are members of our local churches.  CCSAC’s main fundraising event is the annual Walk for the Centre. This year’s Walk will begin at Canadian Martyrs Church, 100 Main Street, at 1:30 pm. A short opening ceremony will have lively music and inspiring speakers. Immediately after the official start, the Sons of Scotland Pipe Band will lead the walkers out the door and on to the 2-4 km walk from the church to Pretoria Bridge and west to Queen Elizabeth Pathway. This is a real community event, as well as a way to highlight the food insecurity facing so many of our neighbours right now. A number of local businesses sponsor the walk with generous financial donations and prizes.

Online donations can be made at www.centretownchurches.org/walkathon and a receipt will be issued immediately.  Donations can also be made by cheque (made payable to CCSAC) at the registration desk on Oct. 5 or mailed to CCSAC at 507 Bank Street, Ottawa, K2P 1Z5.  Receipts will be issued for donations over $20.

Looking forward to seeing you at our 10^th annual Walk for the Centre 2025!

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 Food insecurity in Ottawa continues to be a tough reality for many people. All community food banks have concerns with the increased number of people accessing their service and the dwindling supply of food available. The Centretown Community Food Centre (CCFC), located at 370 Catherine Street, is no exception. CCFC’s purpose is to help their neighbours in need. For the past few months, more than 1500 people, including a large number of children, have been served by the Centre’s friendly staff and volunteers.

Centretown Churches Social Action Committee (CCSAC) is a collective of 22 churches in downtown Ottawa. Since 1978, CCSAC’s main project has been oversight of the CCFC. The new location for the Centre is accessible and a welcoming place for everyone.

CCSAC’s main fundraising event is the annual Walk for the Centre. This year’s Walk will be held on Sunday, Oct. 6. Arrive early (at 1 pm) to enjoy the festivities at the Jean Pigott Place at Ottawa City Hall. There will be terrific music from a Barbershop quartet and guest speakers including Ariel Troster, city councillor for Somerset Ward. Pipers from the Sons of Scotland piper band will lead the walkers out the doors of City Hall as the official opening of Walk begins at 2 pm. The two to four km walk is along the picturesque Rideau Canal Western pathway from Confederation Park to the Pretoria Bridge.

Local businesses sponsor the walk with generous donations and prizes. We will be encouraging participants to submit photos for the photo contest, so keep your cameras and phones ready!

We ask for your support of this worthwhile and necessary fundraiser for the CCFC. Online donations can be made at

www.centretownchurches.org/walkathon Alternatively, donations can be made by cheque (made payable to CCSAC) at the registration desk on Oct. 6 or mailed directly to CCSAC at 507 Bank Street, Ottawa K2P 1Z5. Receipts will be issued for donations over $20.

Looking forward to seeing you!   — Elizabeth Kent

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This generous fund raiser will provide much needed food resources for our Centretown neighbours who have lost jobs, cutback hours of employment and rising food costs due to the Covid pandemic. The Food Centre relies on donations and volunteers to survive and to serve. The mission of Centretown Churches Social Action Committee is to unite Christians of all denominations through joint participation in social projects and prayer.

 With our mandate to alleviate poverty in our community we create social justice through Centretown Emergency Food Centre. The Centre is open three days a week and served 6,105 people bags of prepackaged food in 2020. CCSAC has fiduciary responsibility for CEFC and raises the awareness of poverty in our community. 

Through our Outreach committee we fund other initiatives on behalf of our poor. Such as funding for sleeping bags, hygiene products and warm winter jackets for local shelters and drop-in Centres. In 1967 we were nine churches with a vision for social action in our community. We are 54 years later and 22 churches strong, uniting Christian denominations in prayer and service in Centretown. Thank you for your support. We need your help and collaboration.

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Despite COVID restrictions, last year was successful for the Food Centre, with a dedicated staff and 45 volunteers following COVID safety guidelines. The Centre is open three days a week and served 6,105 people bags of prepackaged food in 2020. 

The Food Centre originated in 1975 and its founding members were an ecumenical group of nine churches. of the Centretown Churches Social Action Committee. Now, an ecumenical group of 22 churches, they have served our community with anti-poverty relief and social justice advocacy for 46 years. 

The Centre offers a helping hand and a smile to those with financial, social and food insecurities. Their clients are the vulnerable, the isolated and marginalized for which they provide resources for community services—where to find groceries, meals, shelters and drop-in centres. Neighbours helping neighbours at 507 Bank St. in the basement of Centretown United Church (Bank at Argyle). 

The 2021 walk is our sixth Walk for the Centre. Join the fun! Choose your own path in virtual teams and solo strolls around your favourite trail. Decorate a personal poster and take a selfie for the Walk and share them with us. We have contests with prizes on our online venue (http://centretownchurches.org/walk/). Join us to show your support for food insecurity and the Centretown Emergency Food Centre. 

Choose to raise funds or make a donation online supporting a walker or virtual team. If you are collecting money the traditional way, download a pledge form online. We will announce a drop off location online on the day of the walk. You can also send a cheque to: CCSAC, 507 Bank St., Ottawa, Ont., K2P 1Z5. Rain or shine the Walk is time to celebrate a worthwhile event. 

Elizabeth Kent
St. Matthews

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Elizabeth Kent
Walkathon organizer and St. Matthews representative on Centretown Churches Social Action Committee CCSAC 

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