Community Safety Unit delivers food kits to families during Ramadan
This past March, as the sun set and families observing Ramadan prepared to break their fast, the Youth Cadets used this opportunity to reach out.
For the second year in a row, the Community Safety Unit (CSU) launched its Ramadan initiative to support dozens of families who were celebrating. The Ramadan initiative was funded by CSU and the West Region Community Safety and Support team. The team visited four communities in the West region, delivering food kits ready to be used to prepare fresh, hot meals.
The CSU’s Youth Cadets took the lead on this initiative. Chevon Smith was one of the Youth Cadets responsible for launching this program in 2025. He described how the program shifted focus from cooking meals to providing food kits.
“[Last year], we served and cooked Iftar meals across three communities in the West Region,” he said. “This year, we switched to delivering food items for families. This allowed us to serve more tenants and give them the option to cook their own meals.”
In partnership with Danny Durante’s No Frills, CSU collected and delivered 80 food kits across the four communities. The kits included perishable and non-perishable food items such as flour, sugar, rice, pasta, tomato paste, and juice.
The Youth Cadets also used this event as an opportunity to connect with tenants, learn about their needs, and provide support and resources.
“The Ramadan initiative became a networking opportunity for tenants to learn more about CSU and possible career opportunities at TCHC,” said Chevon.
A big part of the Cadets’ work is to find ways to address barriers in communities and to promote tenant thriving and well-being. “When tenants feel recognized and supported, they are able to thrive in their communities.”
Following another successful year, the Youth Cadets hope to expand this program across more communities and across all regions in the future.
The Youth Cadet program is a joint initiative between the CSU and the Centre for Advancing the Interests of Black People. If you would like to learn more about how the Youth Cadet program supports TCHC’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism strategy, visit torontohousing.ca/cabr.
Chevon Smith shares about the Ramadan initiative.
