On Thursday, November 22nd Stratford’s The Local Community Food Centre held its Grand Opening event. The Local Community Food Centre is an innovative food security project that has been developed as a division of the United Way of Perth-Huron in partnership with Community Food Centres Canada. It is a pilot project that is helping to lead the way towards the creation of a national network of community food centres across the country. The Local Community Food Centre includes: community gardens and a greenhouse; a community kitchen and dining room where drop-in meals will be served and where educational cooking experiences will be offered; a distribution centre supplying Perth County’s food banks, student nutrition programs, community meal providers and not-for-profits with healthy food; and activism and advocacy programs to empower community members to work together on issues such as poverty and hunger.