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When I first saw a post on Facebook advertising a free St. Patrick’s Day meal in downtown Nanaimo, I was feeling hungry.

The idea of a nice meal of corned beef and hash, with a spinach salad and Irish cream brownie, sounded utterly delicious to me. 

When I went to St. Paul’s Anglican Church, I sat down — and soon started chatting with another guy at the table.

He commented on how cold it was outside; I said I felt lucky to have somewhere warm to live. 

It was indeed chilly outside, and I was wearing a toque with The Discourse’s logo on it. The man noticed, and said he liked the reporting that our former reporter Julie Chadwick had done on the restoration of the mural at Arbutus Books. It turned out the man was Neal Brown — the book store’s owner.

Soon two of my former colleagues at CHLY 101.7FM unexpectedly walked through the door, spotted me and pulled up a chair. After a joke or two about how we clearly aren’t community journalists for the money, we caught up with what we have been up to — and how good the St. Patrick’s Day meal was.

It was a snapshot of the types of people you might meet at a free community meal — beyond stereotypes of just people who are unhoused, though certainly it’s a vital service for people living in poverty downtown.  

This week, I went back to the church for a second meal. This time, I was served a hot bowl of bean and lentil soup with a sandwich. I talked with the kitchen manager, Calven Chow, about his program. It’s main goal, he told me, is not only to help feed the working community of downtown Nanaimo — but at the same time to offer employment skills and opportunities to young neurodivergent workers.

You can read more about the free meal program — and the people working behind the scenes — in my write-up of our conversation below. I hope you can make it out to try one of their delicious meals yourself, if you find yourself downtown on a Monday. 

Thank you for reading,

Mick Sweetman

Weekly community meal provides hot meals — and job training for neurodiverse youth

Nanaimo chef wants to ‘erase the stigma that we're just feeding the homeless or the community at large; it is for everyone.’

I support The Discourse because...

"It’s local news that no one else seems to cover."

— Lee, supporter of The Discourse Nanaimo.

On the Island

🌊 This year’s United Nations theme for World Water Day was preserving glaciers, and dozens of locals marked the occasion with the Cumberland Community Forest Society at Cumberland’s Weird Church. Read the final story by our Comox Valley environment reporter Madeline Dunnett before she leaves for the summer to plant trees for the season. 

In other news

👉 Vancouver Island University (VIU) president Deborah Saucier will be stepping down from her position as of April 4. This comes on the heels of motions of non-confidence in her leadership by both the faculty and student unions and an ongoing financial crisis at the university. 

In a letter sent to students the chair of VIU’s board of governors Jamie Cassels said that CFO and vice-president, administration, Emily Huner, will be VIU's acting president. The board will also start a process to recruit a "longer term acting president" that will "inform the eventual appointment of VIU’s next president."  

In the letter, Saucier says that “after six years, I believe this is the right time for a leadership transition, allowing me to step back and focus on family while taking time to reflect and recharge.”

👉 The 2025 federal election in Nanaimo—Ladysmith is a rematch of the 2021 race with incumbent NDP MP Lisa Marie Barron facing off with former Green MP and current Nanaimo city councillor Paul Manly, the Conservative Party of Canada's Tamara Kronis who finished a close second in 2021, Liberal Michelle Corfield and People's Party of Canada candidate Stephen Welton. Election Day is April 28.

👉 The great Nanaimo bee heist of 2025 went down last week as cocoons of mason bees were pinched from the Beaufort Food Forest near Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. CHLY 101.7FM has the story of how a neighbourhood eased the sting of the theft. 

👉 Hullo Ferries and search-and-rescue crews saved four stranded boaters who had run aground on Snake Island this week. Nanaimo News Now has the story. 

👉  Gabriola Island’s Chamber of Commerce held a roundtable with federal and provincial politicians to talk about trade tariffs, and how local tourism destinations like Gabriola can respond. The Gabriola Sounder has the story.   

👉 The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. found no wrongdoing by Nanaimo RCMP officers who broke a woman’s arm during a search in the detachment’s cells. The IIO concluded the officers used a "necessary degree of force" to conduct the search. The Nanaimo News Bulletin has the story. The provincial watchdog’s full report is also available on its website. 

👉 BC Housing has filed a rezoning application to the City of Nanaimo to potentially add a 60-unit permanent housing building to the same property as its 50-unit supportive housing trailer complex in the city’s south end. Nanaimo News Now has the details. 

👉 Amidst the international trade war, a glut of unsold American grocery items has been a boon for the Loaves & Fishes Community Food Bank, after hundreds of kilograms of unsold U.S. produce were donated in recent weeks. Nanaimo News Now has the story.

Have your say

Survey: What federal election issues are important to you?

📣 The federal election takes place on April 28, and advance polls open on April 18.

At The Discourse, we believe that you, the community, should guide the federal election conversation. We want to know what’s important to you and offer coverage that responds to your questions and concerns.

Tell us what you think and we’ll do our best to dig into the issues that matter to you, and pose your questions to local candidates. Your participation in this survey will help inform our work and contribute to local dialogue about this election. Thanks for being part of it!

In your words

Re: council recording ban deferred.

Interesting comment from Dean Propp. I don’t believe I have ever seen an email from him and he has never made a presentation to council. I try to respond to as many emails to the mayor and council as possible (the mayor responds to most of them). I will respond to emails sent to me directly (it's hard to respond to all the form emails). I have tried to talk to him. I asked him what he meant by the pedophile flag and rather than respond to me, I understand that he used the recording of me on a Facebook post and added a picture of the pride flag. I’m not on Facebook much and not in the private City of Nanaimo Oversight group but someone showed me the post. Should I communicate with my own sign to have the discussion he’s talking about?

Cheers,

Paul Manly, Nanaimo city councillor

Correction: Last week’s newsletter misspelled Dean Leon Propp’s last name. We regret the error.

Have something to say about the news? Email nanaimo@thediscourse.ca. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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