Dine Strathcona returns November 17 to 30
Show support for Strathcona’s small businesses while raising funds for HAVE Culinary Training Society.
The Strathcona BIA is bringing back Dine Strathcona from November 17 to November 30. The neighbourhood’s beloved independent restaurants, cafés, and breweries are once again coming together to offer a lineup of specialty and favourite menu items to raise money in support of vulnerable community members within Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
First launched in 2019, the two-week community festival invites locals and visitors to savour special promotional dishes at several food and drink hotspots in the vibrant neighbourhood, including The Mackenzie Room, Superflux, Strathcona Beer Company, Dosanko and The Garden Strathcona. 19 businesses will be participating in this year’s event and $5 from the sale of each Dine Strathcona menu feature will be donated directly to the festival’s 2021 community partner, HAVE Culinary Training Society, with the goal to raise $5000.
Guided by a philosophy of Hope, Action, Values, and Ethics, HAVE Culinary Training Society is a not-for-profit organization that provides accessible food service training and employment opportunities to members of the community who face barriers to employment such as poverty, homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges. Over the past 14 years they have successfully trained 1,200 students with over 75% of them gaining steady employment in the tourism and hospitality industry. Since March 2020, the kitchen at HAVE’s on-site café has been utilized to prepare over 1,000 meals per day for at-risk individuals who have experienced food insecurity due to the pandemic.
“For the third year in a row, the Dine Strathcona festival gives diners the chance to support a worthy cause while discovering the incredible culinary talents and community spirit that make Strathcona such a unique and special neighbourhood,” says Johanna Lauyanto, Manager, Communications & Sustainability at the SBIA. “The money raised during this year’s event will provide funding to enroll new students in HAVE’s culinary training program and help secure job placements for new graduates in Metro Vancouver restaurants.”
In a short video produced by the Strathcona BIA, HAVE’s Executive Director, Amber Anderson, shares about the life-changing impacts of their the programming and the positive ripple effects that are made throughout the community as a result.
