On April 24, Friends of Station 20 West convened a public meeting to bring people together to talk and work toward ways that people in the community in Saskatoon could work to support Station 20 West. Over 180 people showed up to that meeting in a heartening act of community solidarity.
At that meeting Paul Wilkinson, project manager of Station 20 West, presented information on the state of the project which has been scaled back but not given up on. As some of the previous partners such as the Saskatoon Community Clinic have pulled out because they have seen the $8 Million cut by the provincial government as too great a challenge to fundraise, the people behind the Station 20 are shifting gears and will now make their central focus on bringing the most needed element of the project into being – the community food store. With a significantly reduced building cost ($2.3 million vs. the previous $11.5 million), fundraising with the help of many community members can still make this project a reality.
Saskatoon City Council has approved an extension of the building permit for Station 20 for 1 year with the option of extending longer if necessary. This gives the organizers of Station 20 some breathing room and a chance to get the fundraising machine rolling. There have also been positive overtures made by the Saskatoon Cooperative Association whose membership voted overwhelmingly to explore means of collaboration with the Good Food Junction Coop Grocery Store – the heart of the Station 20 project.
Several working groups have been formed with responsibilities for fundraising, media communications, logistics, and more. If you would like to get regular updates of Station 20 West or learn how to get involved, go to https://lists.riseup.net/www/subscribe/friendsofstation20west and subscribe to the list serve.
