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Every year, SRCHC brings seniors together to celebrate diversity, enjoy cultural events, and share meals, fostering stronger, more inclusive communities and an unprecedented sense of belonging. These connections are meaningful and vital, with research showing they improve mental health, build resilience and can even increase life expectancy.
Many of the communities we serve also include newcomers who face higher than average rates of poverty and unemployment. Working alongside supportive partners, such as Community Food Centres Canada, SRCHC is tackling an urgent need – better access to healthy, affordable food for vulnerable groups like seniors living alone, newcomers, and people living with disabilities.
Cultural Celebrations and Congregate Meals Knit Communities Together, Reducing Isolation and Improving Food Security
Harmony Community Food Centre and the Seniors Active Living Centre (SALC) are powerful and welcoming spaces where food serves as a bridge that connects people.
Our cultural celebrations bring community to life. From lunches to commemorate Chinese New Year and Tamil New Year to Pongal (Tamil Heritage Month) and the Dragon Boat Festival, these events are vibrant expressions of connection and care. They highlight the power of community celebrations and food to bring people from diverse backgrounds together to share healthy prepared meals, listen to music, and dance. More than a place to host celebrations, with the integration of the Harmony Community Food Centre, we’re working together, giving hope for a future where everyone can access good food and gain a true sense of belonging.
"Thank you so much for organizing a wonderful Tamil New Year celebration. It was a truly memorable and enjoyable event for everyone, such a positive and uplifting experience."– Sheila
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drop-in community meals served by Harmony Community Food Centre
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Did You Know:
The Seniors’ Active Living Centre (SALC) at Harmony Hall offers wellness programs, educational workshops, community engagement activities, cultural events, outings and more. Our SALC facilitators lead a wide variety of programs and services that help seniors keep active, engaged, and independent.
The SALC staff team are multi-lingual, with 1:1 services and group based programs offered in languages other than English (Cantonese, Mandarin, Tamil, and Bengali).
Health Promotion and Social Prescribing Improve Outcomes for Seniors
"Health promotion is a team-based approach that enables and empowers people to increase control over their own well-being. When people are supported to increase control over their own health and well-being, they improve their health outcomes."– Shirley Cheng-Kerr, SRCHC Health Promoter
Staff work with clients to develop their personal skills and connect with communities to help create healthy environments. They also take an equity focus to help individuals and communities deepen community action. Collaborating with community members, partners and healthcare providers, health promoters use a determinants of health lens that considers the clients’ entire physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
This team-based, people-centred approach to primary care empowers clients to improve their health, well-being, and social connections. One way health promoters play an important role is through social prescribing – this means that a primary care provider refers someone to a seniors’ community health program for example, instead of or in addition to prescribing them medication.
Social prescriptions are referrals that connect people to community health programs, such as Tai Chi, seniors’ ukulele groups, and other recreational activities that promote well-being. Social prescribing also bridges gaps between the broader healthcare system and other sectors. For example, through group sessions that help seniors access unclaimed benefits or communal meals that improve food security.
While the reasons for referral may be different, the goal is the same: to provide equitable access to group-based community health programs that reduce social isolation and build community connections.
Client Story: Mother’s Day
A 90-year-old mother is referred to a Tai-Chi class by her primary care provider to help her maintain good mental and physical health – it also becomes an activity she can do with her son. Participating together, the duo inspires other seniors in the group and across their community to keep moving and do exercises that continuously improve balance, fitness, and mobility.
Seniors’ Ukulele Group
“The seniors’ ukulele group keeps my mind active while I learn a new skill and have fun. I come to play and connect with people who are now my friends.”
The seniors’ ukulele group’s playlist of top five songs:
- You are My Sunshine
- Ukulele Lady
- Pearly Shell
- Jamaica Farewell
- Wonderful World
Photo caption: Led by seniors providing peer-to peer support, the Ukulele group performed at a Chinese New Year celebration in February 2025 hosted by one of SRCHC’s partners, Woodgreen Community Services . Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow attended the event and recognized the powerful ripple effect the program has on clients and their communities.
The Benefits of Mindful Gardening
"Every time I practice mindful exercise in our rooftop garden, I notice the vegetables we grow; I feel the magical life in every plant; the sun, air, and our care are so important, and then comes the harvest. There are no words that can express the joy in my heart."– Clement Liong, gardening program participant
SRCHC has been a pioneer in promoting the health benefits of gardening activities for more than two decades. In the early 2000s at our 955 Queen Street East site, the rooftop was converted into a stunning community garden. In 2016, we applied for and received a grant to renovate our secret garden into a paradise. The space was re-designed with large raised garden boxes to make the space more accessible with pathways that allowed for mindful walking and gardening at the same time.
The most notable impact of the gardening programs, according to participants, are the positive effects on mental health and well-being, along with access to healthy, fresh food. Through gardening together, people build new friendships rooted in shared interest and a sense of accomplishment. By working and learning together, we reduce social isolation and loneliness. Our focus on mindful gardening, harvesting and eating together also supports people to feel more grounded, calm, and relaxed. It can be remarkably transformative. Angie Seto shares: “I have a sense of fulfillment when I step onto the rooftop garden, seeing the seedlings grow well, turning the space green and bushy.”
Gardening programs build practical skills and improve access to fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, supporting people to eat healthier and save money.
By learning new skills, gardening group participants have started growing their own food on windowsills, balconies, and in their own gardens.
Did you know: last year SRCHC hosted 32 sessions across four gardening programs which served almost 300 participants?
Harmony Community Food Centre:
Serving Up Independence for Kids and Youth
At SRCHC we believe that everyone deserves the chance to learn and thrive. That’s why our Harmony Community Food Centre is more than a place to eat: it’s a hub where barriers come down and hope takes root. By bringing community members from all walks of life together to grow, cook, and share food in a welcoming, inclusive space, Harmony Community Food Centre strengthens food security, while nurturing connection and belonging for everyone. With nearly 12,000 meals served each year, an affordable fresh produce market, and activities for families, youth, and seniors, we offer hands-on learning that nourishes both body and spirit.
At our Harmony Community Food Centre, SRCHC runs a number of programs for children and youth – including Kids Can Cook and Mind Your Food – that serve up large helpings of independence and contribute to food security.
Kids Can Cook is a four-week program that runs in July and August every year. Children and their parents or caregivers gather to learn about food-related topics and prepare simple, budget-friendly recipes. Through experiential learning, families gain hands-on cooking skills and learn about proper nutrition, healthy eating habits, and the importance of social connection.
The Mind Your Food program engages youth aged 13-19 and helps them develop cooking and baking skills, and learn more about food traditions. It also enhances cultural pride, community action, and land-based knowledge sharing. Each session includes shared meals, plenty of snacks, and often food to take home. At its heart, the program is about building community and creating space for youth to form meaningful social connections and a sense of belonging.
As youth participants become more confident, they begin to share their own recipes and food traditions with the rest of the group. This past winter, they developed and prepared a number of recipes, including Chicken Biryani and Mango Lassi, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Apple Fritters, and a nutrient-packed version of Trifle.
Nothing compares to the unique joy and sense of hope that fills the room when children and youth come together in the kitchen. As they explore the food system and learn about food security, they’re also building friendships and gaining confidence and independence.
These programs are about more than food — they’re about learning, growing, and thriving, one recipe at a time.
The program has grown in its popularity with much interest from families in the community. “I’ve never had raspberries before and I like it!” “I’m going to make this at home for my mom!”