Ottawa woman making a difference in her community following injury: Cathy’s Pantry

A South Ottawa woman has opened a community food pantry helping dozens of residents in need. CTV’s Camille Wilson reports.

An Ottawa resident is making a difference in her community following an injury that left her unable to walk for a short time.

Cathy Hamilton is a resident at Clementine Towers and the founder of The Clementine Food Bank. She decided to change the lives of others after she got into a car accident three and a half years ago.

“I noticed someone passing out on the floor in the lobby, and I asked if they were okay. I’m going to call 9-1-1, but the person said no, they were just hungry,” said Hamilton.

She says she knows how hard it is to have access to food because she had a lack of food growing up as a kid.

Hamilton started the initiative, Cathy’s Pantry, from her very own kitchen pantry, handing out food to residents in her community who have mobility challenges and may struggle to access food. The initiative is now called The Clementine Food Bank.

Sam Rauby, a resident of The Clementine Towers is very grateful for this program.

“And for us to travel to go to food bank is very hard for us. She makes it very convenient for us to have what we need,” said Rauby.

Rauby notes that the low income, high bills and small pension make it hard to make ends meet.

“Lucky if you can survive, thank God for sending us Cathy to help us out and keep going,” said Rauby.

“We have numbers like crowds. They really need the food because they’re waiting hours just to see us to get the food. And they approach us and they’re happy because it’s really helping them, because we have tenants from different walks of life and they can’t afford food,” said Hamilton.

Hamilton’s program began during the pandemic and has since grown with the help of donations, grants, local volunteers and other community organizations. She has 31 volunteers every Thursday to help keep this alive.

The Clementine Food Bank serves up to 80 people each week and supports 14 other communities.

Hamilton has been part of the Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) for the past six years and is a dedicated tenant. She’s volunteered in the garden, served as vice-president of the tenant association, all before starting up the pantry.

Hamilton’s hope is to continue reaching more people in need.

The pantry is open every Thursday, handing out food to tenants at OCH’s 1455 Clementine Towers.