Walking or driving by on Richmond Road, many people don’t know that All Saints’ Westboro has a busy food bank that has been quietly helping its neighbours for 40 years. But those who go there know that the Westboro Region Food Bank (WRFB) is a special place that offers a lot more than just food.
“Some of our volunteers have been here for five, ten years….We get to know the people who come,” explains Martine Doré who co-ordinates the operations and efforts of 40 volunteers. “Some people just want to come get the food and go, and that is 100% okay. Some people are here because they are seen, acknowledged, appreciated. I had one gentleman say, ‘Oh my God, you remember me? Maybe I make a difference in the world.’ People feel welcome when they come here, and they walk away with more than just food— a sense that ‘This is a place I can go. I’m respected. They understand my unique barriers, they try and work with those barriers.’”
The Rev. Chung Yan Lam, All Saints’ associate incumbent, told Crosstalk that the food bank is an integral part of the church’s ministry, and the parishioners are deeply committed to it. All Saints’ has partnered with First United Church to share the building, and Lam says that parishioners from both congregations form the food bank’s most steady base of donors. There is always a basket of food near the altar. “When we are participating in worship…breaking bread together, we remember those who are without,” she said. They call all the visitors to the food bank neighbours.
Although Westboro is an affluent part of the city, Doré said there are hidden pockets of deep poverty. The neighbours who visit the food bank come from subsidized seniors’ residences, emergency housing shelters and shelter overflows in the area. There are also many newcomers to Canada. Staff and volunteers make frequent use of a translation app so they can communicate with people who speak a myriad of languages.
All Saints’ role providing a home for the Westboro Region Food Bank is vital, Lam points out. Without the space in the church, including heat and light and water utilities, it would be too expensive for a food bank to pay for any space in the area. This is an important point for the federal government to weigh as it considers a proposal from the finance committee to end tax-exempt status for churches, she says. “We need people to understand that the Westboro Region Food Bank is an arm of what we do here. All Saints’ Westboro needs to be here so that we can do this work.”
Like all of the branches of the Ottawa Food Bank, WRFB is facing challenges to stretch limited resources to meet increasing needs. Doré said there has been a 90% increase in visits to the Ottawa Food Bank partners since 2019. “Even the same amount of money doesn’t go nearly as far when you think about the increased demand, the escalating costs of food, diapers…” she said.
Visitors to the Westboro Region Food Bank come once each month to receive a three-day supply of food and essentials such as diapers and feminine hygiene products. Doré said that the previous day they had to divide the few diapers they had between two households. During March and April, they are running a special appeal for these much needed and vital but less frequently donated items.
“The fruits and vegetables we got Friday only served our Monday food bank neighbors. We had to buy $200 worth of fruits and vegetables to serve everyone today because at the end of the day we were left with about six red peppers, a couple of cucumbers.”
All Saints’ makes such purchases from the Westboro Region Food Bank’s trust fund. “The church has a trust fund that is allocated and designated for the food bank to purchase the extra food in order to maintain a certain standard,” Lam explained. “Many people during COVID especially appreciated how this food bank was giving a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables.”
Donations to the Westboro Region Food Bank are also designated towards the purchasing of food to supplement declining supplies from the Ottawa Food Bank and various administrative costs to keep the food bank running smoothly. Lam noted that organizations such as the Legion and the Westboro Business Improvement Area fundraise and have been strong supporters.
In the fall, the Westboro Regional Food Bank moved to serving people by appointment. The system helps them organize the food distribution, and they have found that it is less stressful for those coming to the food bank. Lining up together tends to increase anxiety about whether there will be enough food. Lam says there is an orderliness to the appointment system that reduces tension. Visitors feel that they are seen and have a place and time that is reserved for them by name.
Doré says they still take walk-ins as exceptions if a visitor is new or unable to make appointments. “We don’t want anyone to leave a food bank hungry,” she says.
The number of appointments per day fluctuates, but it is common to have 28 to 30 appointments in a day, which represents a much larger number of people because each household may have multiple members or sometimes multiple generations living together. One household they serve is a family of 12.
All Saints’ also has a New-to-You thrift shop in the church. “Within this more affluent area, [people] donate very lightly, gently used items…. We can then offer them to people in need, as well as we sell it to people who want to buy less, recycle and reuse, and so it’s able to do that for us,” Lam said. The shop is one of the instrumental ways for the community at large can support the sustainability of the Westboro Regional Food Bank. All proceeds from the New-To-You Shop are used to support the parish’s operational costs in order to continue being a compassionate presence in Westboro, she explained.
The two ministries complement each other. Lam said that volunteers pay attention to what the neighbours who come to the food bank might need. If it is a cold day and someone doesn’t have a hat or scarf, they take them up to the shop and give them something. Good neighbours, indeed.
Saint John, Innisville — Deanery of the Southwest