File Photo/CHAT News

By Olivia Thorington

IN THE COMMUNITY

The Mustard Seed closing daytime services permanently after today

Feb 28, 2025 | 10:46 AM

Over 100 vulnerable people in Medicine Hat will no longer have access to daytime meals, essential mail, donated clothes and other crucial services offered only by The Mustard Seed after the organization closes its North Flats site on Friday afternoon.

Operations will cease at the non-profit’s building on Allowance Avenue Southeast after the city’s planning authority denied a development permit that would have legitimized its daytime services and added an overnight shelter element.

The organization was given a March 3 stop work order deadline by the city a few weeks after the Municipal Planning Commission’s Jan. 15 denial made amid intense public criticism of The Seed’s residential-area locations.

That same body later approved a separate application from The Mustard Seed requesting permission to continue operating a commercial-size kitchen to feed people at its overnight shelter on Eighth Street and around the city.

The MPC approved a 90-day permit for the kitchen. While The Mustard Seed would be forced to request an extension if it wants to operate the kitchen past three months, it does provide some brief relief.

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Meanwhile, a collaborative effort between Medicine Hat Community Housing Society, The Mustard Seed and Alberta officials including local MLA Justin Wright is ongoing to find a new unified location for The Seed’s services.

That effort started last year in response to growing complaints from residents who witnessed sexual acts and overdoses, found drug paraphernalia and had their belongings stolen by some Seed clients in the Flats neighbourhood.

But until a new location is found, many people who rely on the services offered at The Seed’s Community Impact Centre on Allowance Avenue Southeast will after Friday have nowhere else to access the same supports.

The Salvation Army in Medicine Hat offers a dinnertime meal and the Root Cellar Food and Wellness Centre gives out snack bags to those who need it most. While both organizations say they anticipate an uptick in people using those services, neither offer the same suite of assistance as The Seed.

The clock continues to tick to 4 p.m. on Friday when the doors at 503A Allowance Ave. S.E. will close permanently.

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All Mustard Seed coverage

– What’s next? The future of The Mustard Seed in Medicine Hat

– Resident point of view: Enraged Medicine Hat residents share frustrations over Mustard Seed locations

– Over 100 locked out: Future uncertain for vulnerable users of Mustard Seed’s day services