Food Drive Last Sunday

You have done it again SouthWest United! I was moved to see the thoughtfulness that went into the donations that came in last Sunday. Such a wide variety of foods, with all food groups represented: there were canned meats and fish as well as meat substitutes like peanut butter; canned fruits and vegetables; boxed milks of various kinds; rice, oats and other grains. Thank you! And thanks once again to the Mooney-O’Reillys for pickup and delivery!
We will collect again the first Sunday in December.

Distribution of food from Dawson BGC (formerly Manna food bank) is now done on Thursdays between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Because of Covid, it is done by appointment. The number to call to make an appointment is 514 767-9967, local 223. (666 Woodland Avenue).

Breakfast Club News

On October 31st, Sheila Morrison, one of the two Breakfast Club coordinators at Verdun Elementary, came to church to report on what is happening in this third school year of the pandemic.

The model has changed quite a bit from the days when between 40 and 75 kids would sit at tables in the Mission eating food served directly from the kitchen. Last year, with the introduction of “classroom bubbles”, it became clear that the only way to feed the “breakfast club kids” was to send their (pre-packaged) meals in bins to their classrooms. Sheila and Sue (Purcell, the other coordinator) immediately recognized the awkwardness of feeding only certain children; they asked Breakfast Clubs of Canada if it would be possible to expand the program to cover all 200+ students at the school, and the answer was yes! As you will see in Sheila’s report below, that model has continued into this school year.

We were able to present Sheila with quite a few dish towels we’d collected, as she said the program was in need, including a large number of colourful dish cloths crocheted by our own Marge Cooper-White. What a wonderful example of how, as a community, we have still managed to reach out to each other even in a pandemic!

Breakfast Club Report, October 31, 2021

We prepare bins every morning for all 16 classrooms in Verdun Elementary School, for a total of about 220 children. Teachers and/or the children come to the kitchen and pick up their bin and take it to class.

We get an order from Breakfast Club every 2 weeks based on our ordering the week before. We try to make it as appealing to the children as possible, we like to make colourful bins. We make bagels and cheese for them once a week and toast the next. We also receive WOW butter (substitute for peanut butter and jam). They love their fruit. That is why, as Dennis mentioned last week, we have set up a deal with the new fruit store on the corner of Desmarchais and Verdun ave. We just had bananas delivered this past Tuesday and the kids loved them. 

When we were at the mission, we were only feeding approximately 40 children, whose families were supposed to pay, but it was a hit or a miss at times. Children who came on busses would arrive too late to eat in the Mission so we would prepare bags for them to eat in their classrooms. We had pancakes, scrambled eggs, eggos, (some were donated by Southwest). We even would have from time to time casseroles with sausage, egg etc. When there was a special occasion such as Easter or Christmas we would serve something applicable with the occasion.

It was brought to my attention a short while ago that the Breakfast Club of Canada is hopeful the Liberal government will follow through on a campaign promise and create a national food program for students faced with food insecurity. Daniel Germain, Breakfast Club of Canada founder and National School Food Program Advisory Committee Chair, says funding could be on the way, as the re-elected Trudeau government promised a five-year billion-dollar investment.

“A re-elected Liberal government will work with our provincial, territorial, municipal, Indigenous partners, and stakeholders to develop a National School Food Policy and work towards a national school nutritious meal program with a $1 billion investment over five years,” states the Liberal Party of Canada platform, which formed a minority government in September.

So we all look forward to a better year ahead for our children’s stomachs!

Respectfully submitted,

Sheila Morrison

Just a few of Marge’s dish cloths.

Almost Like Old Times

Sunday, June 27th, our last service before taking a break for the month of July, Pastor Beryl brought cake and iced tea and lemonade to share after worship. There was talk of rain but in the end we were able to gather out in the sunshine and socialize a little bit. It was reminiscent of many St-Jean Baptiste barbecues of years past.

We don’t know what the public health situation will be when we return to worship on Sunday, August 1st. We just have to hope and pray that it keeps improving. Most of the people attending services are already fully vaccinated. We know that some others would like to come but are not quite ready for this level of contact.

Rest assured we will continue to follow guidelines from the government and our Regional Council to ensure the safety of our congregation. We look forward to seeing more of you as you feel ready.

Thanks to Sarah Fraser for organizing our Music Sunday on June 27th. Special thanks to soloist Howard Welburn. Congratulations to Douglas Hastie and Francine Couture who recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Sarah arranged a little serenade for them during the service.

Feeding Neighbours Experiencing Homelessness

Every Saturday for several months, Donna Cobb and Keith Wood have been dropping off sandwiches, or fruits and vegetables, or whatever they can manage that week, with a volunteer team that takes the food downtown to distribute to people experiencing homelessness. They are part of an effort started by Lisa Witt of Dollard-des-Ormeaux to distribute ready-to-eat food to people in city parks such as Cabot Square and Parc Emilie Gamelin, as well as to shelters like Benoit Labre House and Accueil Bonneau. Every week, a van arrives at pick-up spots in The West Island, Cote-St-Luc and Lasalle before heading downtown jam-packed with good things.

“We don’t have a lot, but we have enough,” Donna says. “It doesn’t cost a lot to make a tray of sandwiches.” When doing their grocery shopping, she and Keith keep their eyes open for bargains. They know where to get the best deals on things like bread and meat.

Donna found out about this initiative through a Facebook group called Montrealers Helping Montrealers. It is a group where people post about all kinds of things; most Saturdays, Witt posts photos and a brief description of the day’s rounds. Unlike food banks, which mostly collect and distribute non-perishables, this group is literally collecting perishables - fresh food items to be eaten the same day.

Witt, who has been doing this every week since last October, will be taking a well-deserved break for a few weeks as of June 12th, but plans to return to it later in the summer. That still leaves the next three weeks for anyone who is interested to get involved.

If you would like to donate sandwiches, baked goods, or anything that is ready-to-eat, the van will be doing pick-ups May 22nd and 29th and June 5th at 10:00a.m., in the parking lot beside 7040 Allard St. in Lasalle (it’s an apartment building just below Newman Boulevard).

image: Donna Cobb on Facebook

News from Léonore, en Estrie

Léonore Pion, who was our Kitchen Coordinator the last couple of years at SouthWest Mission, has moved on to the Eastern Townships and started her own community kitchen called La Jeanne. Back on March 14 (“a lifetime ago”, as she says) she sent the following words:

«Community kitchen La Jeanne started its activities a month ago. I've mostly (and successfully) been doing workshops, and will probably have to cancel what was scheduled for the next weeks. I'm hoping I won't be sick, so I can have a little production line for people here in isolation. I'm thinking La Jeanne could provide an "emergency popote roulante" for the next couple of weeks. Not sure how that will/can happen, but in God I trust, n'est-ce pas, and I know when one's focused enough, things just fall into place. »

Asked this week if she had been able to get her meals-on-wheels program off the ground, she sent the photos below and this follow-up message:

“I'm doing really well, considering.
I have a lot of energy and am happy and relieved to be able to contribute in a positive way.
Since the beginning of the crisis, I've been cooking, and cooking, and cooking more.
I left my kitchen log book at work, so these figures are approximate---so far, in more or less three weeks, and with the help of one volunteer only at a time, La Jeanne was able to send 100 L soup, 60 L fruit salad, 25 L meat sauce, 60 ready-to-eat meals, 80 family portions of orange cake, 50 banana loaves, and, last but certainly not least, 125 pots of marmalade to the local food bank, la Banque alimentaire Memphrémagog (BAM), my "landlady" and partner who then redistributes the food to her crowd. BAM feeds me with the ingredients she can't distribute, for various reasons -- too old, too much, too bulky -- and I transform them as fast as they need to be---or else they get fed to the pigs.
The number of people seeking for food help has increased tremendously in the last couple of weeks. Memphrémagog Food Bank is still able to provide generously. That is, I think, mostly because restaurants have closed, and restaurant owners brought their perishables to us. However, I'm concerned that there will be nothing left to distribute/transform in a few weeks---I heard Moisson Montréal is running out of stock; as for Moisson Estrie, it hasn't been providing our last orders.
That's why I feel it's important to transform now, in order not to lose stock. We can't afford to waste food that will be necessary tomorrow.
I will go on working as long as I'm healthy. So far, so very good.
I'm lucky to be surrounded by an amazing bunch of humans: the food bank team has been more than welcoming, and is eager to support me in our common effort to feed the most vulnerable. Some wonderful volunteers have also shown up---for now, I can't say the kitchen efficiency is at its best, but it feels like a real luxury to spend time with someone, that girl/guy at the other end of the room :)
I hope SWU is doing good, going through this crisis with courage and hope.
It must be really tough for some of them---alone, no visits, no going out. I hope everyone is getting as much support as they need. I hope everyone is taking this very seriously: you do not fool around with the virus, oh you do not.”

Bravo Léonore! Keep up the good work!

Suivez La Jeanne sur / Follow La Jeanne on Facebook.

Shrove Tuesday/ Ash Wednesday

Longtime members know that we have a habit of combining Shrove Tuesday - or Mardi gras - and Ash Wednesday into one evening, starting with a pancake feast and ending with a solemn ceremony with ashes as we mark the beginning of Lent. In the past we have done this on the Wednesday. This year, we have decided to do it on the Tuesday, which falls on February 25th.

The pancake supper will be coordinated by Dorothy Brown. Please contact her directly or through the office if you wish to help in some way.

Ashes will also be available the following Sunday, March 1st, for those who couldn’t attend on Tuesday.

Shrove Tuesday supper starts at 6pm on February 25th, followed by a simple service in the church hall at about 7:30pm. All are welcome.

Food for Manna, once a month

Our Reverse Advent Calendar food collection was a big success. The box was literally overflowing every week during Advent. Thank you all for your generosity, and thanks to Sandy MacKenzie, and George and Sue O’Reilly for picking up and delivering the non-perishables to Manna food bank. You all helped fill hungry bellies through the holidays and beyond.

As of February we will be re-starting our tradition of collecting food for Manna every first Sunday of the month. There are no specific guidelines at the moment; any non-perishable food items will be gratefully received on February 2nd.

Soup for Lent

During the five weeks of Lent (March 1st to March 29th) there will be a simple soup lunch offered after every Sunday service. We are hoping to have two choices of soup at each lunch, at least one of them meatless. That means Dorothy Brown is looking for up to ten cooks to commit to bringing a pot. Get in touch with Dorothy directly or through the office if you can contribute.

A Reverse Advent Calendar

This was going around on Facebook, and we thought it would be a good idea for us to do as a congregation. Instead of a mitten tree, we will be collecting foodstuffs throughout Advent, to be donated to a food bank just before Christmas. This list gives an item per day, but as we meet once a week, we will break the list down into the four weeks of Advent. So… on December 1st, which is the First of Advent, we are asking people to bring in any of the following items: box of cereal, peanut butter, stuffing mix, instant potatoes, mac and cheese (Kraft dinner), canned fruit, canned tomatoes. We will provide a festively-decorated box to collect the items.

Holly Tea: Can you contribute?

The Holly Tea and Sale to be held at SouthWest on November 30th will feature a light lunch, a bake sale and several other tables. If you are able to contribute some homemade goodies, please package and price them in advance. Containers will be made available.

The sale tables will include: Silent auction, china teacups, trinkets and treasures, new and used toys, handmade articles, small white elephant and a couple of raffles. Contributions to any of these tables will be gratefully accepted. Contact the office to be put in touch with Dorothy Brown.

Holly Tea, Saturday Nov. 30th at 12:00. Lunch $5.