This is a photo taken from my 2 years at The People's Potato-- an all vegan Non-Profit soup kitchen in Montreal that serves hundreds of free meals a day to fight poverty in Quebec and also hosts bi-weekly food banks. I spent a lot of my university days here.
Food banks have been an important aspect of my life. At the age of 18, my parents encouraged me to start volunteering at an all vegan non-profit soup kitchen and food bank in Montreal as a means of combating poverty in Quebec and making friends. I not only helped cook and serve food to over 300 a day, but I also benefited from the partnership that the People's Potato had with local grocers.
Prior to volunteering there, I struggled with eating disorders. Seeing how other people struggled and witnessing the hundreds of people that showed up for food bundles and soup, delivered me from my own eating dysmorphia. To an extent-- the habits that were deeply entrenched had somehow gradually been dispelled and lost through our mission to do something meaningful for the community. It not only released me from my own self torment, but it gave me a whole new perspective on food, helped me build relationships with good people, and overall lose sight of myself in our quest to serve others. Through my wok with the People's Potato which served healthy vegan foods and provided food bundles, and my work with the Cinema Politica Network, I found that uplifting communities is not just about food access but also access to the right kinds of food.
It’s easy to get nit picky at a restaurant when you don’t remember the man outside on the side walk who would be happy with the food on our table, or to not feel like finishing your food over a good conversation. Often people love to bring up starving kids in other countries. Those people forget that their are starving families in our own back yards. As a waitress, I saw first hand how much food is discarded by customers and by restaurant facilities.
Through those I served, I was quickly able to see the poverty that exists all around us in every metropolitan city. Even growing up in DC, programs like WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) that provided families with food were integral to family members and friends. Witnessing how many goods go to waste through my work in the restaurant industry, it is clear that more can be done. Knowing the amount of food that grocers and restaurants waste daily, everyone can have a seat at the table. According to the Capitol Area Food Bank, 641,000 struggle with food insecurity. 41 million people, 13 million children, and 5.4 million elderly citizens in the US were also at risk of food insecurity as published by Feeding America. As referenced by Bread.org, close to 800 million people worldwide are victims of poverty and thus, hunger.
Food For All DC works to address the problem locally through partnering with the Capitol Area Food Bank and providing local residents in poverty with basic food staples. Their parent organization, Amurt (Amanda Murga Universal Relief Team) works internationally providing citizens globally with hunger relief and security. Through my work for these organizations, I not only assist in putting together food bundles but I deliver them to families, elderly citizens, and handicapped residents throughout the city. Subsequent to my continued work with organizations like these, I hope to one day found my own food, clothing and beauty/wellness banks that help the poor gain food security and reclaim their sense of esteem and well-being.