Thursday, Jan. 23 edition: Food hubs provided 62,000 meals in 2024

Good morning, Burnaby!

Local nonprofit Burnaby Neighbourhood House (BNH) held its annual general meeting this week where it highlighted its services. The nonprofit provided emergency food support to more than 1,500 residents weekly. Also this week, the City of Burnaby steps up to manage the Michael J. Fox Theatre, and the possibility of a new Filipino cultural centre is in discussion.

👀 In today's edition:

• Food hubs provided 62K meals for Burnaby families and seniors in 2024

• City may play a bigger role in Michael J. Fox Theatre management

• Nonprofit approaches city for help with new cultural centre

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NEWS

Burnaby food hubs provided 62,000 meals for Burnaby families, seniors in 2024

Local nonprofit Burnaby Neighbourhood House (BNH) held its annual general meeting at its Burnaby South location at 4460 Beresford St. in Metrotown on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Four city council members attended the event—Maita Santiago, Richard Lee, Joe Keithley, and Pietro Calendino, who attended as acting mayor. 

During the meeting, BNH board members highlighted the nonprofit’s services throughout the year ending on Aug. 31, 2024, BNH financial information, and the number of beneficiaries. According to a presentation, in 2023-2024, BNH provided emergency food support to more than 1,500 Burnaby residents weekly throughout 2024. It also supplied over 27,500 food hampers through its food hubs, providing more than 62,000 meals to families and seniors. 

In November 2023, the Beacon spoke with BNH program director Kimberly Barwich, who said the food hubs were seeing unprecedented increases in the number of residents requiring food assistance due to inflation and rising living costs, especially seniors. Barwich also said Burnaby seniors are increasingly at risk of homelessness due to high housing costs. 

Get the full story here.

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Burnaby Bulletin

Criminal trial after workplace death. More than 12 years have passed since a pipe layer was crushed to death by a collapsing trench wall on a Burnaby city sewer project. The foreman on that job is now on trial for manslaughter. [Vancouver Sun]

Sexual assault suspect. Burnaby RCMP have recently released a sketch of a suspect in a sexual assault case in the city’s Edmonds area. Police say the assault took place on Nov. 17, 2024, shortly after midnight. Anyone with information about the suspect is encouraged to contact the RCMP. [CityNews]

Emergency warming centre is open. The City of Burnaby activated an overnight warming centre at 7320 Buller Ave. on Friday, Jan. 17, providing extra capacity for vulnerable people to take shelter from winter weather. The emergency warming centre will be open from 8:30pm to 8am daily. 

Walking Alongside Trauma. A new exhibit opened Thursday last week at the Amelia Douglas Gallery in New West, highlighting the experiences of people who work or interact closely with survivors of sexualized violence. The exhibit will be open until Feb. 28, 2025. [New West Record]

Stabbing in New West. A man suffered a stab wound to his shoulder during an assault in downtown New West on Sunday morning. New Westminster police officers were alerted to an assault with a weapon on Clarkson Street around 7am. [New West Record]

A new credit union. A new credit union is now available in Burnaby for Persian Canadians and Farsi-language communities to help with challenges immigrants, newcomers and refugees face when arriving in the country. [Business in Vancouver]

NEWS

City may play a bigger role in Michael J. Fox Theatre management

Located next to Burnaby South Secondary, Michael J. Fox Theatre has been a big part of the community since 1993. The theatre has been the venue for events from school concerts to community events touching the lives of thousands of Burnaby residents. Kristin Schnider, chair of the Burnaby Board of Education, describes going to the theatre as a “treasured part of [her] high school years.”

In 2024, the Michael J. Fox Theatre Society—the nonprofit that managed the theatre—lost its management. Since then, the Burnaby School District has stepped up to take on the role of managing the theatre. 

Discussions about the theatre occurred during a closed council meeting on Dec. 16, and the city published Resolution No. C2024 - 160 in the agenda of council’s Jan. 14 meeting. The city, theatre, and school district sent the same press release stating that the City of Burnaby is considering taking a more significant role in managing the theatre. 

Read more about the future of the Michael J. Fox Theatre here.

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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Nonprofit approaches city for help with new cultural centre

At the City of Burnaby’s first Planning and Development Committee meeting of 2025 on Jan. 15, the Filipino-Canadian nonprofit Mabuhay House Society sent a delegation to speak with committee members. The delegation included Lester de Guzman, the nonprofit’s board director, and William Canero, the vice chair of Mabuhay House Society. 

At the meeting, de Guzman and Canero presented plans for a new Filipino cultural centre in the Metro Vancouver area. Last June during the Pinoy Festival—an annual Filipino cultural event that takes place at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby—Premier David Eby promised the government would build a new Filipino cultural centre. This occurred shortly before the provincial election. 

“We think that the Filipino-Canadians who live in British Columbia deserve a cultural centre. We think you deserve a cultural home to get together and celebrate, to eat, to dance, to have fun, to play, and it’s long overdue,” Eby said at the Pinoy Festival. 

Get the full story here.

Where to eat & drink

Taqueria Playa Tropical. There’s likely no better place to go in New West for good quality tacos, burritos, tortas and quesadillas than Taqueria Playa Tropical, a small and cozy Mexican restaurant located right by Queen’s Park. We’d highly recommend starting off with their “choriqueso”, a mouth-watering bowl of melty queso topped with chorizo and served with chips.

MYST Asian Fusion. The options at MYST Asian Fusion are endless—from a variety of hotpot and dim sum selections to fried rice and noodle dishes, there’s a lot to choose from—though rest assured, there are no wrong decisions. Some of the most popular options include stir-fried beef noodles, salt/pepper fried chicken, pork dumplings and kimchi fried rice.

Little Billy’s. Open in Burnaby since 1975, Little Billy’s is a fixture for Greek cuisine. Ideal for larger groups, one of the best items on their menu is the “Flaming Greek Platter for 4” which gives you a taste of their grilled lamb/chicken/beef/calamari, spanakopita, roasted potatoes, rice, pita bread, hummus and tzatziki.

🤝 Now Hiring

Looking to make a move? Here are local jobs open right now:

• Archaeologist at Stantec

• Intergovernmental and Public Affairs Specialist at City of Burnaby

• Inside Account Manager at Grand & Toy

• Auto Supervisor at HUB International

• Service Desk Associate at Home Depot

• Credit and Collections Analyst at Guillevin

• Faculty Negotiations Coordinator at SFU

• Damage Prevention, Summer Student at Trans Mountain

Hiring and want to let people know? Reply back and let us know!

🗓 Things to do

Thursday

• Family Social. 3pm. Burnaby Public Library. 

• Fraud Prevention and Scams. 10:30am. Burnaby Public Library. 

• Pop-Up Pantry & Social. 12pm. Global Student Centre at SFU.

Friday

• All Star Trek Trivia. 7pm. The Rec Room.

• Single Moms Social. 4pm. 3737 Bartlett Ct.

• Ladies Sushi Night. 6:30pm. Sushi Well.

Saturday

• Crystal Light Psychic & Wellness Fair. 12pm. First United Spiritualist Church.

• Japanese Tea Workshop: Wakōcha. 11am. Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre.

• Product Management Bootcamp. 10:30am. SFU.

• Jazz Cats Social. 6:30pm-10:30pm. Century House.

Sunday

• Unlocking Wellness: One Day Retreat. 10am. Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.

• Fresh Flowering Tropical Bowl Workshop. 10am. Gardenworks at Lougheed Hwy.

• Clothing Swap. 12pm. 712c 12th St.

• Paint Nite. 6pm. The Rec Room.

Monday

• Mini Paint Day. 4:30pm-8:30pm. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at SFU.

• Paint Nite. 7pm. Oliver Twist Bar & Grill.

Tuesday

• Healthcare Virtual Job Fair. 11am-3pm. Online via Zoom.

• New Moon Ceremony. 7:30pm. 5584 Kincaid St.

Wednesday

• Vision Board Creation. 12:30pm. Global Student Centre at SFU.

• Yoga and Entrepreneurship. 5pm. Yoga at the Quay.

• SFU Women’s Basketball vs. Western Oregon University. 7pm. West Gym at SFU.