LEARNING FROM LOCAL FOOD INITIATIVES

While an undergraduate student at McGill, Milton was struck by the stark contrast between the abundance of unused food at the university's cafeterias, and the abundance of food insecurity in the local community. With help from mentors and volunteers, he set out to "find ways to collect and redistribute surplus edible food to homeless shelters and soup kitchens in our communities" (from the FoodCare website). Today, the innovative social enterprise has spread to several other campuses, and continues to grow. 

 

In week after meeting Milton, the class took part in an online discussion with Kirstie Jagoe, founder of the Montreal-based group, Bread & Beyond. When COVID hit, Kirstie saw the marked rise in food insecurity, and decided to do something about it: she started making sandwiches to bring to shelters, and now more than 150 volunteers make thousands of sandwiches each month for people experiencing homelessness, and those who are forced to choose between paying their heating, rent and food. At their next class on May 20th students in the class will be making sandwiches at home, which Bread & Beyond volunteers will then pick up and distribute. (Outdoor Ed students will also be invited to participate, if they choose to.)