Results tagged “ymca”

Back in May, when the Metro Central YMCA announced they were planning a green roof to accompany other repairs, it was an idea that made sense: the rooftop running track was a flat, ugly expanse of hot concrete, and certainly not much to look at from the surrounding condo towers. Originally intended as a outdoor terrace for exercising and lounging, it barely served the purpose—it was much more comfortable to run on the air-conditioned interior track, and with nowhere to sit on the hard surface, the area didn't lend itself to yoga classes, stretching, or even a nice place to read a book.

                     

On Sunday evening, more than thirty of Toronto's most celebrated chefs congregated in the open air of Yorkville Park for Toronto Taste, Second Harvest's biggest and most lavish fundraiser. Honouring its nineteenth year, the event raised $250,000 in just one night—enough to provide 500,000 meals for people in need. Torontoist was lucky to snag a couple of these hot tickets and chat with some of our city's food glitterati who—despite the challenges of running restaurants in this economy—are continuing to do their part to fight hunger.

Decades before the Chef Jeff Project and Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, a small group of dedicated chefs began an initiative to help Torontonians on social assistance learn the skills needed to work and thrive as professional cooks. Twenty-five years later, the Basic Culinary Skills Training Program's current director Kelvin Ramjattan and his crew of experienced and hard-working instructors—Adam Lariviere, Dan Prewer, and Kathy Marinkovic—are continuing to help change the lives of fifteen new students every three months in a fully equipped, industrial kitchen at the YMCA on Charles Street.

The Metro Central YMCA at Yonge and Grosvenor found itself with a problem, but one that led to a new opportunity: the roof is leaking and needs extensive repairs. Featuring a running track and not much else, the large concrete rooftop slab is more akin to the upper deck of a parking garage than a place to exercise or enjoy, but its barren configuration made it a premium site for a forthcoming downtown green roof.