A trio of young business professionals have said goodbye to promising corporate careers to build up a social enterprise that will help feed people at the grassroots level.
Derek Juno, a Belmont secondary and University of Victoria business school grad, joined UVic classmate Andrew Hall and Hall’s Calgary buddy Jeremy Bryant in creating Mealshare.
“We knew we wanted to start a business (together) and wanted to make it social and make it beneficial to the greater community,” Juno said.
The concept – being launched soon in Victoria and Vancouver, after getting started in Edmonton and Calgary – sees restaurateurs create or designate a menu item.
"When diners select that item for their meal, a whole other meal is given to someone in need," Juno said. "Mealshare has teamed up with Victoria's Our Place Society and an international charity to provide meals."
The partners have toured Our Place and spoken with staff to get a sense of the work they do, he added. “They are a real force in our community."
Four restaurants are involved in the local launch: Canoe, Zambri, Lido Waterfront Bistro and West Coast Waffles.
The Victoria tab at mealshare.ca goes live Nov. 6 and menu items will be available the following day. Find more information at Mealshare on Facebook and @mealshareteam on Twitter.
Salmon run shuttle provides weekend service
With salmon spawning season upon us, RLC Park Services is offering a shuttle service from downtown Victoria to and from the Nature House at Goldstream Provincial Park. Return trips run daily Fridays through Sundays, leaving downtown from 606 Humboldt St. at 9 and 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with a park interpreter on board to describe the salmon cycle. Inbound departures are 10:30 a.m., 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Cost is $10 per adult, $5 for children each way and early arrival is suggested. Car seats are required for small children. The service runs until Dec. 8, and no shuttle will operate Nov. 22 to 24. Call 250-478-9414 for details.
Base fire hall project wins gold award
Victoria’s Houle Electric was named gold award winner for its work on the CFB Esquimalt fire hall and emergency response centre project, at the Vancouver Regional Construction Association awards of excellence gala. Houle won in the electrical contractor category, for projects over $2 million.
Service firm helps out Big Brothers Big Sisters
Tyler Bate and his team at Speedy Gopher volunteered close to 100 hours for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Victoria to help the youth mentoring organization fix up a room at its Bay Street facility. Staffers from Speedy Gopher, an online service company that does odd jobs and errands, created a more usable space for Big Brothers Big Sisters staff to train volunteers and meet families. Castle Building Supplies also supplied $250 of materials for the job.
Names in the news around Greater Victoria
Former Victoria mayor Alan Lowe takes over from Lance Abercrombie as chair of the Victoria Hospitals Foundation board for the 2013-14 term. Lowe, who has been vice-chair, also welcomes board newcomers Angus Izard and Bruce Dyck … Lane Patrick is new executive sous chef at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. He comes to the job after spending eight years with Four Seasons hotels in the West Indies and Toronto and two years operating a cafe in Costa Rica with his wife … Kathie Ross has received the 2013 Chair’s Award for Education from the Certified General Accountant’s Association of B.C. Ross, currently working on her PhD in accounting in the U.K., develops curriculum and is an online instructor for CGA-BC and has instructed at Royal Roads and Thompson Rivers universities … Accent Inns announced longtime hotel management veteran Smith Munro as its new director of operations. John Espley takes on a new role as director of marketing and communications with the firm.
Send your business news to ddescoteau@vicnews.com.