A good friend of mine works in a café in Montreal. One of his informal tasks is to bring to an elderly gentleman who lives a few steps from the store what seems to be his daily meal: slices of cooked ham and a portion of mashed potatoes.
Last week, she told me that for two days, the gentleman in question did not respond to her visits or those of his colleagues. His bosses finally reported this absence to the authorities and on visiting the premises, they discovered the man alive but slumped on the ground. He had fallen a few days earlier and unable to get up to answer the door, had remained like that for those long hours.
Social isolation is a worrying issue
For this man, it is quite possible that the daily visits of my friend and her colleagues represented one of his rare links with the outside world. The latter, however, is far from alone. And this situation is of particular concern to me. I find it completely inconceivable that people experience social isolation and food insecurity on such a scale in our society. And unfortunately, whether it’s because of the financial precariousness of some, isolation, or loss of autonomy, not to mention the constant rise in the price of food, these cases could multiply over the next few years. When the Helping Hand team decided to get involved, as in the article “Elles changent le monde” in our May issue, my colleague Catherine Clermont, head of the kitchen section, and I, both concerned about issues related to food, wanted to get involved in an organization that works to counter issues related to food insecurity. In Quebec, the Regroupement des meals-on-wheels contributes in its own way to counter this phenomenon with thousands of seniors and people with a loss of autonomy or in a situation of isolation by offering a home meal delivery service provided by the involvement of hundreds of volunteers. It is therefore natural that we opted for one of them: the Santropol Roulant. the Regroupement des meals-on-wheels contributes in its own way to counter this phenomenon with thousands of seniors and people with a loss of autonomy or in a situation of isolation by offering a home meal delivery service provided by the involvement of hundreds of volunteers. It is therefore natural that we opted for one of them: the Santropol Roulant. the Regroupement des meals-on-wheels contributes in its own way to countering this phenomenon with thousands of seniors and people with a loss of autonomy or in a situation of isolation by offering a home meal delivery service provided by the involvement of hundreds of volunteers. It is therefore natural that we opted for one of them: the Santropol Roulant.
Complicated to get involved?
The first contact with Santropol begins with a short mandatory information session that aims to target the interests of future volunteers, but also to learn more about the Montreal organization which produces on average nearly a hundred meals per day. Three types of involvement are possible in the Montreal organization’s Meals on Wheels: preparing meals, distributing dishes in lunch boxes and cleaning the kitchen, and late afternoon delivery. As deliveries are made on Saturdays, it is also possible to give time during this day. Other projects of the organization also welcome volunteers, including agriculture and urban beekeeping as well as bicycle repair workshops. At the end of this meeting, Catherine and I were thrilled, particularly by the structure for hosting volunteers. Here, there is no need to commit to a minimum number of hours per week. The number of weekly involvement time slots is even limited to two per person*. “One way not to tire the people who get involved too much,” explains Ben, the organization’s volunteer coordinator. This also ensures a turnover of people and avoids absences as much as possible. the organization’s volunteer coordinator. This also ensures a turnover of people and avoids absences as much as possible. the organization’s volunteer coordinator. This also ensures a turnover of people and avoids absences as much as possible.
In the kitchen
Our appointment is set for a Friday at 9:30 am. As soon as we arrive in the kitchen, we meet the three other volunteers who will be part of the morning brigade. Quickly, we learn that we will have our work cut out for us. On the menu that day: green salad, sautéed Asian shrimp, hash browns, and peas. And for those with a sweet tooth, two choices of dessert: date square or fruit salad. As this is our first time in the kitchens of Santropol, Jeremie, the chef in charge of meals for the day, assigns us relatively simple tasks. First mandate: the fruit salad. From our first stab wounds in the ripe flesh of the fruit, the catchy notes of Paul’s Graceland album
Simon rises from a sound system. The tone is set: the sun illuminates the vast kitchen and we will work in a good mood. Time flies by cutting fruit, spinning salad, slicing tomatoes, and chopping ginger. We discuss with our new “colleagues”, we clean our work tools, and we fill the meal containers for delivery which begins at the end of the afternoon. And when our tasks are complete, others are assigned to us. It’s that there is this pocket of potato that must be peeled and these green peppers that must be sliced for the next day. At the end of this day, we leave exhausted, but filled with a great feeling of satisfaction to have done an action that matters to a large number of people. Finding time to get involved is certainly far from obvious, especially when you have a busy schedule. But our experience at Santropol has shown us that it is possible to give a few hours on a weekly or monthly basis quite easily. Already, Catherine and I are thinking about our next time slot at Santropol! And next time, why not test delivery? Would you also like to get involved? Find our suggestions in our special file why not test delivery? Would you also like to get involved? Find our suggestions in our special file why not test delivery? Would you also like to get involved? And to follow the experiences of the rest of the team, follow the hashtag #SocialInvolvement on social networks! *The reception structure for volunteers is not the same in the different Meals on Wheels in Quebec. If you want to get involved in one of them, it is best to contact them to find out how they work. To locate the meals closest to us, consult the online directory at this address: popotes.org **We warmly thank the entire Santropol Roulant team who welcomed us during this day.
