The Rural Voice, 2001-12, Page 32SAVED. . . AND SAFE
The community supper, long a part of rural life,
is not an endangered tradition after all, but Grey Bruce health
officials want to make sure customers get safe food
By Keith Roulston
Working together with friends and neighbours to create a fundraising dinner has long been part of the fabric of rural
communities, but health officials in Grey and Bruce want people to be aware of the dangers involved.
The community dinner —
whether raising money to put
put roofs on arenas or keep a
roof over the heads of a church
congregation, it has been an integral
part of the rural way of coming
together to get things done. For a
while this summer and fall, however,
many wondered if it was another of
the rural traditions that had passed
into history.
It all began with a letter from the
Grey Bruce Health Unit dated August
8 and sent to all churches in the two
counties.
In what became known as "The
Church Letter", Christopher J. Munn,
assistant director of the health
protection division laid out the rules
churches and community groups
were expected to follow in preparing
foods for fundraising dinners.
"It has been the Health Unit's
policy to treat churches, service clubs
and fraternal organizations as
28 THE RURAL VOICE
commercial outlets if they prepare
and sell foods to the public.
"Safe public health practice would
indicate the necessity of preparing
meals "on site" immediately prior to
serving. Preparing foods at many
different locations (i.e. potluck) and
transporting them increases the risk
of food -borne illness.
"If your church is planning a
special event in which food is
prepared and served to the public, the
Health Unit must be notified in
advance so that the proposed
preparation and service procedure
can be discussed and arrangements
can be made to take a water sample
at the facility."
The letter sent a chill through the
community sector across the two
counties (and beyond — groups in
Huron County began to wonder
about the future of their events, as
well, though one local health
inspector said nothing had changed
in that county's policies.) The
community practice is for people to
prepare much of the food for a dinner
at their home, both for convenience
and because the kitchens just aren't
set up to accommodate all the food
preparation. People worried they
couldn't meet the new standards.
Some groups even cancelled events,
afraid of what was behind the letter.
The issue was even raised at Bruce
County Council.
One of those who was worried
was Lynn Fischer of Teeswater who
hadn't actually seen the letter. Like
many others, she was concerned that
the impact of these community
events not being held went a lot
further than the money raised or the
meal enjoyed by those purchasing
tickets.
"I, along with a lot of other
volunteers who put in a lot more
hours than I do, was worried about
the future of our community — our