ICYM moves on to a new model, and hopefully, a new home

Inner City Youth Ministry in Saint John finds itself in need of a new home as they head in a new direction.

The outreach program that focuses on family and children has been headquartered at the Anglophone South School District office in Saint John’s north end for three years. 

It was from the large industrial kitchen there that ICYM ran its Lunch Connection program, providing lunch for hundreds of school children each week.

“This space worked well. It was perfect,” said Bonnie Hunt, executive director of ICYM. “We’re very sad.”

Dozens of volunteers met several days a week to prepare food and pack lunches into cloth bags, sewn by hundreds of Anglicans and other helpers in the past few years.

But much of that is about to change.

“It was all good until the province rolled out its plan for a universal lunch program,” said Bonnie. “They want this space. They have a breakfast program. Now they’ll have a lunch program that’s the same throughout the province.”

ICYM could have bid on providing lunches. They’d have had to provide 1,800 to 2,000 lunches a day.

“The highest we’ve done is 700 in a day,” said Bonnie.  

In considering the option, they made a pros and cons list and did a sample menu.

“It would have meant hiring staff, but running at that volume seemed to be too much,” said Bonnie. “That’s not our mandate. We’re not caterers.”

And so Lunch Connection, as a school lunch program, will end in June.

PIVOTING
But that doesn’t mean the end of ICYM. They will continue their other programs and even hope to expand some.

They hold Family Connection once a month, in person. Families come for games, activities and a shared meal, and leave with a kit to help with at-home activities like reading together. Usually 30-40 people attend.

Every Friday, ICYM partners with Pennies and Sparrows and the Church of the Good Shepherd for Youth Connection, a youth group that includes a meal, activities and bible study.

In the summer months, ICYM hold a twice-weekly picnic in the south end, where the community gathers for lunch and the children enjoy games, reading and other activities. 

Bonnie is hopeful that the backpack program, usually held during the summer months when kids aren’t at school, will continue throughout the year. 

Each family gets a backpack with a recipe, ingredients, utensils if necessary, a book, and discussion starter questions. 

“It’s like a local version of Hello Fresh,” said Bonnie, adding some families can access it due to convenience (and pay for it), while others already appreciate the much-needed donation of food and the means to make a meal for their family.

“Families particularly love the discussion starter questions,” said Bonnie. 

Sample questions include, if you could have any superpower, what would it be; is there anything about you that you’d like me to know; what makes you sad; what would you like to be when you grow up.

EQUIPMENT & VOLUNTEERS
By June, the equipment ICYM has accumulated will be sold or moved to a new location, depending on the new needs. 

“Anything not nailed down is ours: the shelving, deep freezes, dishwasher, utensils, bins, pots, popcorn maker, induction stove tops and industrial freeze dryers,” said Bonnie.

They also have close to 5,000 cloth lunch bags that they’re not ready to give away just yet. They might find uses for them, and if the universal lunch program doesn’t work as planned, they could come in handy.

They’ll hold on to as many of their volunteers as possible, since they’ll still need community help no matter what their new roles are.

“Volunteers will still make the trail mix, portion snacks and pack backpacks and get them ready for distribution,” she said. 

A NEW ERA
ICYM has been asked by one school to operate their breakfast program, and it will be a sit-down model, not a grab and go, so Bonnie is pleased they’ll see and talk to kids once again.

One of the most welcome changes she is anticipating is getting back to interacting with families. With Lunch Connection, the focus was solely on food, not building relationships.

“I’m very excited to be working with children and families again,” said Bonnie. “I’ve missed that on a personal basis."

While things like location are still up in the air, Bonnie is moving forward with hope and purpose.

“We’ve always been focused on finding needs and meeting them. We’ve always flipped to meet the need. COVID expanded that need, but now we don’t need that anymore. Someone else is meeting that need, so we’ll find the next need.

“I’m excited for a new era.”

Learn more here: https://icym.ca/
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WE NEED A NEW HOME!
Inner City Youth Ministry is currently looking for a new home base in Saint John or the surrounding areas. We are looking for a new location to safely store equipment and food, prepare for programs, and host volunteers. 

We anticipate needing to contribute some rent and/or utilities toward a suitable space, though we would not be able to pay full commercial market rates. Creative or shared arrangements are very welcome.

We are open to: 
• church basements or unused classrooms 
• community centres 
• shared nonprofit buildings 
• unused commercial or warehouse areas 
• part of a larger facility 
• upgraded garage spaces 

Essential Needs 
• Ground-floor access is strongly preferred, along with wider/ double doors. If located on an upper floor, access via an elevator or ramp would be necessary. 
• Approximately 700–1000 square feet. (Can be broken up into different spaces) 
• The equipment is not portable, so we're seeking a stable long-term arrangement rather than a space that must be cleared weekly.  
• Space for 5–10 volunteers to move and work safely at the same time.  
• Access to bathroom facilities for staff and volunteers (can be shared). 
• Access to parking for staff and volunteers. 
• Reasonably secure: not a space where the public is regularly passing through or at risk of handling equipment. 
• Access to shared internet OR permission to set up internet service. 
• Have sufficient existing outlets/circuits, OR allow us to do electrical upgrades (by a licensed electrician).
 
Space to accommodate:      
• Four large shelving units 
• Two industrial freeze dryers (approximately the size of washing machines) 
• One commercial two-door refrigerator  
• One large chest freezer 
• Packing tables and workspace for volunteers 
• Two commercial popcorn machines on work tables (each approximately the size of a washing machine).
 
If you know of a space and would like more details, please reach out to Bonnie Hunt at: info@icym.ca or 506-647-9813.

Photo captions:
1.  Bonnie Hunt, executive director of Inner City Youth Ministry in Saint John, with some of the food supplies for school lunches. 
2.  This photo shows the laundry sacks filled with lunch bags they've used to package student lunches for the past few years. They were sewn by hundreds of Anglicans and friends and ICYM does not want to part with them, at least not yet. Photo also shows the well-equipped facility they must vacate.
McKnight photos