Serving at Food Path: One Volunteer's Experience

I've been wanting to write for sometime regarding my experience at the Foodpath center last week.

For those of you who know me, you'll be surprised to know the visit left me lost for words......Doesn't happen often, but this visit was all that I hoped it would be - and more.

As you'll see from the note below, I had the great fortune to volunteer last Wednesday with Manpreet & Amritpal - thus making our group small, but I will say VERY effective.

The week started out busy - infact, at one stage I was going to postpone, however my wife reminded me of the elements in our lives we can control and those we should not influence (wives are good at doing that)....

I left work early that day, I even anticipated 'dressing accordingly', which in my case meant wearing a casual tracksuit top in place of my suit jacket (an action I would be thankful for later that evening). On arriving at the center, the lineup of men, women, parents with strollers and parents simply holding young babies; lining up outside on a cold evening, left me struggling to complain about the traffic I just had to fight through on the 401. I parked away from the entrance - already humbled.

I followed directions given to me - "Be there for 5:30pm, on arrival let them know you're a volunteer". I walked through the entrance, cognizant that there were families and individuals lining up and I was 'cutting' ahead of them.

As I entered, I saw a lady who obviously was in control - and to my surprise, she greeted me with a huge smile and confirmed I was one of the volunteers. She welcomed me as if I was an old friend, guided me to a room where I waited for 'instructions'.

I can go on and describe the rest of the evening, but what I wanted to emphasize was the reception I received once I entered the building. My warm reception was obviously a result of those from this group who had gone before me and set a precedence of establishing the Sikh volunteers as a group of dedicated, compassionate and socially responsible people. No words can achieve that - only actions.

I eventually linked up with Manpreet & Amritpal, who were working on the edge of a HUGE box filled with a mix of Crackers & Cookies. Working with a 4th (non-Sikh) volunteer, we separated what seemed like thousands of packages into two categories - Crackers & Cookies. To say we picked up momentum is an understatement, in true Sikh spirit, the work was done efficiently and before we knew it, Amritpal was collapsing the box, courtesy of his steel-toe boots. Our evening did not end there, it seemed there was an entire pallet of Organic Soy & Cows milk that needed disposing of (expiry date had been passed) - the 4 of us combined with another group and between the 8 volunteers, we threw away what seemed like thousands of litres of spoiled product (yes, this does happen, however this we were told was a much smaller batch of what was actually given out before the product was unsafe). This task was a tad more messier than separating cookies and crackers, hence the relief of wearing a more appropriate attire.

We ended the evening on a natural high - almost disappointed to have to go home.

To my co-volunteers Manpreet & Amritpal, thank you for making last Wednesday a memorable and life changing evening for me.

Consider me signed up for the 23rd of December.

Thank You Guru's Kitchen for establishing this partnership with Foodpath, and for those of you who haven't made it out there - I can't recommend the experience enough.

This is true seva - I saw it on the faces of the recipients of the food bank, especially those coming in with babies that left with food to feed their families.

Tej.........

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The issue isn't hunger. It's hungry people.

Foodpath definitely lives up to it's name, sharing the gift of food with hundreds of families out of a modest 6000 sq. ft. warehouse, The reality is that many of these families rely on Foodpath not as a supplement but for survival. This inherent need in the Mississauga community makes Foodpath not simply a food bank but a pillar of support for the local areas families.

 

The Foodpath's fair share policy ensures all those in need are helped equally. Need assessment is done with respect to family income and area of residence. In the last 23 years, Foodpath has been operating they have seen an increase in need. As Dawn, a Foodpath manager, puts it "this is the kind of business that wants to go out of business".

 

Hearing the stories and testimonials of the various clients of Foodpath opened our eyes to the realities that families face in our own backyard. The members of the Guru's Kitchen will be volunteering Wednesdays evenings with Foodpath for the month of November.

 

"The issue isn't hunger. It's hungry people." –Foodpath Management

Foodpath

• Is the largest food bank in Mississauga supporting over 6,000 clients per month
  
• Also distributes over 6 million pounds of food to another 4,000 clients within 30 Mississauga Agencies - including other food banks, food programs, breakfast clubs
  
• Operates through the support of over 300 volunteers, 6 staff, and a volunteer Board.
• Foodpath receives donations from individual supporters and corporations every year.

Did you know?

• Foodpath receives no provincial or federal government funding
  
• United Way of Peel Region funds 20% of our current operations
  
• All food distributed within Foodpath is donated and never purchased
  
• Foodpath has the healthiest “food basket” providing balanced meals to all clients
  
• 53% of Foodpath clients are children
  
• 91% of donations go directly to food programs
  
• $3.50 donation can feed an adult client for ten days
  
• Foodpath has had a 60% increase in client demand in the past five years
  
• Foodpath needs your help, as there is so much more to do
  

Sikhs Serving the Knight's Table

Walking through the secure magnetic locked doors, passing clients waiting in the lobby, the volunteers from Sikhs Serving Canada were greeted with a stern welcome at the Knight’s Table (Brampton, Ontario). The coordinator Maxine eyed us skeptically as she gave us our job assignments. Two volunteers working in the office behind protective glass taking optional donations from clients and signing them in, one serving drinks, one serving food and two washing in the kitchen. Each of us was paired with an in-house volunteer from the local high school or there by court order. Maxine soon warmed up to us explaining that an iron fist and tough love was the best way to deal with volatile clients, who you have formed relations ships with, and laissez faire volunteers. Always be on your guard she warns.

 

The 65 clients that filtered in and out made for a comparably slow day compared to holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, days where they have the fewest volunteers. In this Indian restaurant converted cafeteria, where daily menus are written on the wall and take away packages are available, there is usually a 60 person turnout (80% male, few females; and families).

 

As clients entered there was an easy flow of traffic as drinks were served at entry and plates of food were handed out by staff.  In the back of house there is an industrial range with flat top, stainless steel pots and work stations and two washing stations similar to a Gurdwara setting. In every corner of the kitchen we found fresh vegetables given as food donations from local markets and farmers, bread and day old sweets from Costco and other vendors for clients to take at will. There was little room for food storage due to the fast turnover of product.  Any personal donations are carefully screened and documented in a log for safety concerns.

 

Our day ended at 4:00pm after helping the Knight’s Table team clean and close up the for the night. This day left our volunteers feeling satisfied and inspired by the good work that is being done in the world and thankful that we were a part of it and had the opportunity to learn from the experience.

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