montrealpost

那些需要的，不用害羞，但其他人  。  。  。  。 举头三尺有神  。  。  。  。

montrealpost

The long line-up at the food bank is an image most people associate with grainy black-and-white films and Cole Porter songs. According to Statistics Québec, today 460,205 Quebec families live under the poverty line, set at $34,000 a year for a family of four. A family on welfare makes a little less than half that amount. This means after rent, bills and buying a week's worth of groceries, almost a quarter of the population has next to nothing left in the bank.

Food bank organizers say the number of people on some kind of social assistance has increased so much that they have had to adjust their policies. Some organizations have adopted an area-residents-only policy, and others have begun to charge a membership fee. Larger organizations like Sun Youth and the Salvation Army require people to go through a screening process, where applicants need a heap of documents and an explanation before they are given food. Most of Montreal's food banks get their supplies from Moisson Montreal, a charity that harvests corporate, farm and market donations and stores them in a 90,000 square-foot warehouse on Côte-de-Liesse.

If you are broke and need a food basket, call your local CLSC, or the referral centre Face à Face for the food banks in your area. Then dig up your lease, a few bills . . . . . .

montrealpost

NDG Food Depot - 2121 Oxford, metro Vendôme. Mondays 5-7 p.m. and Fridays 10 a.m.-2 p.m. NDG residents only. 514-483-4680

Required documents are proof of income and address. Clients are registered once, and then they may come again as needed. Waits are a trifle long, but the space is clean, homey, and there is food to eat and coffee to drink. They gave the most complete food basket we saw, as well as the most respectful treatment, in the city: powdered and condensed milk, a dozen eggs, bagels, canned soups, cookies, a fresh zucchini, chocolate, Kraft dinner, juice, fresh pears, baby carrots and Ramen noodles.

montrealpost

Mile-End Mission - 99 Bernard W., metro Place-des-Arts, 80 Bus. Fridays only, 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. 514-274-3401

Mile-End Mission is small, run by Anglican priest Roslyn Macgregor and a few dedicated volunteers. Clients must present themselves in the morning and then return in the afternoon for their basket. The required documents are a proof of address and welfare or cheque stub. There is no interview. Connie Olson, director of the food bank, will help a non-Mile-End resident in dire need if there is a surplus. It is a small, no-frills place. The food basket contained: white hamburger buns, peaches, kiwis, pickles, Maxwell House coffee, hot dog buns, sliced ham, salted crackers, canned soups, potatoes and Jell-O pudding.

montrealpost

Multi-Caf - 5829 Côte-des-Neiges, metro Côte-des-Neiges. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. 514-733-0554

The Multi-Caf is in a community centre for Côte-des-Neiges residents only, and they serve free meals in the mornings. They also discourage more than monthly visits. The required documentation is a lease or proof of address. The wait is in a cafeteria, about 20-minutes long but with a free cup of coffee. The food basket contained: potatoes, pickles, plums, apples, spinach, bread, soap, canned beans, powdered milk, little cheesecakes, tomatoes, lettuce and canned tuna.

montrealpost

La Garde-Manger familiale - 5965 Christophe-Colomb (Paroisse St-Etienne), metro Rosemont. Fridays only, 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. 514-270-2308

Run entirely by two sisters, Sisi and Guylaine Leboeuf. There is a $2.50 fee, bring your own backpack. Clients wait in a damp church basement until their numbers are called, at which point they are ushered behind a folding curtain, their hands are stamped and they "shop" what they want from tables spilling over with food. There are no required documents, no interviews and the sisters don't care where you live. The fruit and veggies come largely from markets, so be prepared to wash the earth off. The food to choose from was: potatoes, baby carrots, lettuce, croissants, danishes, onions, green beans, snow peas, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, peaches, apples, frozen french fries, bread, bagels and raw pizza crusts.

montrealpost

The Salvation Army - 2050 Stanley, metro Peel. Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. 514-288-7686
(I believe this one moved, please ask Salvation Army)

The Salvation Army serves downtown residents, but that territory extends pretty far. If you think you are within their jurisdiction, call before going because they are strict about appointments and will send you away if you drop in. Like Sun Youth, there is an interview to get through. The required documents are family members' medicare cards, a lease and a bill. The office is drab but the wait is not too long and there are toys for children. They also do not encourage repeat visits. The food basket consisted of: white bread, cookies, Kraft dinner, Kraft snacks, cakes, a pound of margarine, a large ham, tea, Ramen noodles, canned soups, canned beans, canned carrots, canned pineapple, instant pudding, no-name jello and instant coffee.

montrealpost

Maison Adrianna - 2615 Ontario, metro Frontenac. Wednesdays only 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 514-573-6347

Maison Adrianna serves the Centre-Sud and Hochelaga area. Customers must be registered to receive foodbags, and there is a 250-name waiting list. Registered customers pay $5 per weekly visit. The food is spread out on tables, and people choose the contents of their baskets. The director, Jacqueline Boucher, makes a special effort to ensure there are always fruits and vegetables. What Moisson Montreal doesn't provide, she buys from food markets. The food available included: fresh carrots, apricots, plums, radishes, lettuce, eggplants, Philadelphia cream cheese, bread, Kraft snacks and various forms of Kraft Dinners.

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The Women's Centre - 3585 St-Urbain, metro Place-des-Arts, 80 Bus. Women only. Thursdays and Fridays by appointment. 514-842-4780

The Women's Centre services are for women and families in the Plateau/downtown area. They do not ask for any identity cards, income slips or leases, but clients will be asked to fill out a form. There is no interview. They discourage anything more than monthly visits. Clients bring their own backpacks or boxes, which are taken and filled at the back of the centre and handed back in the waiting room. The food basket contained: three pounds of potatoes, one pound of peanuts, Kraft dinner, pears, three meal-replacement bars, canned soups, one pound of carrots, bread, sliced smoked ham, peanut butter and an entire bag of Kraft mini-salad dressings.

montrealpost

Sun Youth - 4251 St-Urbain, metro Place-des-Arts, 80 Bus. After the 15th of every month, appointments only. 514-842-6822

The walls of Sun Youth sport photographs of just about every Canadian politician, actor and singer with a heart to bleed or an axe to grind. The juxtaposition of all those framed smiles with the utter pandemonium of the place makes for a surreal experience. The hallways are cluttered with junk and people mill about as if lost. The interviews take place on the second floor (no elevator, no wheelchair access) making it difficult for the elderly and mothers with strollers. Required documents are: Hydro bills, proof of income, identity cards and a lease. They make a point of asking people why they need assistance. Furthermore, clients must sign a waiver that reads, "Sun Youth is not responsible for the condition of these items. (Said person) agrees to surrender any and all claims against Sun Youth org. in virtue of any damage sustained as a result of said items." Sun Youth say the food is for emergencies only, and they don't encourage return visits. Consequently, the food in the basket is haphazard: pasta, bread, sugar spread, shampoo, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, canned soups, canned beans and a pound of frozen beef. Seemed hardly worth the legal mumbo-jumbo.