Every Saturday for several months, Donna Cobb and Keith Wood have been dropping off sandwiches, or fruits and vegetables, or whatever they can manage that week, with a volunteer team that takes the food downtown to distribute to people experiencing homelessness. They are part of an effort started by Lisa Witt of Dollard-des-Ormeaux to distribute ready-to-eat food to people in city parks such as Cabot Square and Parc Emilie Gamelin, as well as to shelters like Benoit Labre House and Accueil Bonneau. Every week, a van arrives at pick-up spots in The West Island, Cote-St-Luc and Lasalle before heading downtown jam-packed with good things.
“We don’t have a lot, but we have enough,” Donna says. “It doesn’t cost a lot to make a tray of sandwiches.” When doing their grocery shopping, she and Keith keep their eyes open for bargains. They know where to get the best deals on things like bread and meat.
Donna found out about this initiative through a Facebook group called Montrealers Helping Montrealers. It is a group where people post about all kinds of things; most Saturdays, Witt posts photos and a brief description of the day’s rounds. Unlike food banks, which mostly collect and distribute non-perishables, this group is literally collecting perishables - fresh food items to be eaten the same day.
Witt, who has been doing this every week since last October, will be taking a well-deserved break for a few weeks as of June 12th, but plans to return to it later in the summer. That still leaves the next three weeks for anyone who is interested to get involved.
If you would like to donate sandwiches, baked goods, or anything that is ready-to-eat, the van will be doing pick-ups May 22nd and 29th and June 5th at 10:00a.m., in the parking lot beside 7040 Allard St. in Lasalle (it’s an apartment building just below Newman Boulevard).
image: Donna Cobb on Facebook