Welcome Stefana!

Montreal, August 21, 2018
The Marché Mobile Verdun\ Verdun Mobile Market project names coordinator

SouthWest Mission welcomes the funding provided by the Direction régionale de la santé publique (DRSP) for the Verdun Mobile Market project aiming to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to the vulnerable communities of Verdun, and announces the hiring of Stefana Lamasanu as the project coordinator. A Verdun resident actively and passionately engaged in the local community, Stefana wants to ensure the promotion of healthy eating and a better access to fresh produce.
"In the last few years, the charm of our borough has been attracting an increasing number of new Verdun residents, bringing along a change in the local economic profile and an increasingly diverse commercial landscape. However, as we profit from such changes, we must not forget our more vulnerable citizens. It is time to ensure a larger reach of healthy and fresh produce in our neighbourhood, and that is precisely what the Verdun Mobile Market intends to do," declares Stefana.
In order to celebrate her appointment, and the project’s imminent start, the Mission will invite the community to an upcoming Mini Market to take place during the month of September. Invitations to follow.
The SouthWest Mission, in collaboration with the CDSV (Concertation en développement social de Verdun), the Verdun CSSS (Centre de santé et de services sociaux), and Grand Potager, aims to make food accessible to all. The Mission also works in partnerships with the Lester B. Pearson School Board, Moisson Montréal, the Anglo Family Council, among others, and is part of the Verdun sans faim roundtable. The Mission offers a variety of services to the Verdun community, such as the Breakfast Club, the Welcome Wednesday community lunches, the Wednesday Mini Market, and a Community Depanneur.
 

Mini-marché 29 août/ Mini-market August 29

C'est le début de la récolte 2018 et nous sommes très heureux que le Mini-marché soit de retour à la Mission à tous les deux semaines. Soyez des nôtres mercredi prochain, le 29 août entre 10h30 et 15h30 pour obtenir les meilleurs prix sur des fruits et légumes frais. Il est possible de placer votre commande par téléphone ou courriel en téléchargeant la liste des prix (bouton ci-dessous).
Un repas léger sera également offert à 12h30. Tous sont les bienvenus, payez selon vos moyens.

With this year's harvest starting to come in, we are very happy to have Mini-market back at the Mission every second Wednesday. Join us August 29th between 10:30 and 3:30 for low prices on fresh produce. Consider calling or e-mailing your order in ahead of time using the price list (click on the button above).
A light lunch will also be on offer at 12:30. All are welcome, donations gratefully accepted.

Breakfast Club delayed, Seeking Volunteers

The first day of school at Verdun Elementary and most of the Lester B. Pearson School Board is Wednesday, August 29th. We had hoped to have Breakfast Club in place from that first day as we usually do, but unfortunately, delays in the renovations will make it impossible to have children in the Mission that week. We are now expecting Breakfast Club to start one week later, (Sept. 5) with the possibility that it may be in the school rather than the Mission for a little bit. We will keep you posted as soon as plans are definite!

That said, we are still in preparation mode and accepting financial and food donations for the program, especially the following items:

margarine
frozen Eggo or other brand waffles
sliced orange cheese or blocks of white cheese
cream cheese
bagels
sliced sandwich bread
English muffins

In addition, Breakfast Club is seeking a few good volunteers for any day of the week. The gratification that comes from seeing children start their school day with a healthy breakfast is worth the early start time! If interested, please contact Shelia at smorrison9940@gmail.com or  Sue at suzannepurcell@hotmail.com.

Mini-market August 15

With this year's harvest starting to come in, we are very happy to have Mini-market back at the Mission every second Wednesday. Join us August 15th between 10:30 and 3:30 for low prices on fresh produce. Consider calling or e-mailing your order in ahead of time using the price list below.
A light lunch will also be on offer at 12:30. All are welcome, donations gratefully accepted.

C'est le début de la récolte 2018 et nous sommes très heureux que le Mini-marché soit de retour à la Mission à tous les deux semaines. Soyez des nôtres mercredi prochain, le 15 août entre 10h30 et 15h30 pour obtenir les meilleurs prix sur des fruits et légumes frais. Il est possible de placer votre commande par téléphone ou courriel en téléchargeant la liste des prix (bouton ci-dessus).
Un repas léger sera également offert à 12h30. Tous sont les bienvenus, payez selon vos moyens.

Calendriers Août: Alimentation/ August Calendars: Food

Téléchargez le calendrier "Où manger" pour trouver les repas communautaires à Verdun durant le mois d'août.

Téléchargez le calendrier "Où cuisiner" pour les cuisines collectives, les marchés et d'autres ressources en sécurité alimentaire.

Download the "Où manger" calendar to find community meals in Verdun in August.

Download the "Où cuisiner" calendar for collective kitchens, markets, and other food security resources.

Back to School, Back to Breakfast

We have partnered with and supported Breakfast Club at Verdun Elementary School for 11 years.
The new school year is but a moment away - LOL - and Breakfast club needs donations of food. That's because the national program only provides food from about three weeks into the school year, but we always open our Club on the first day of classes (August 29th). 
Food donations needed: cereal, cream cheese, cheese slices, bread, juice, Eggo waffles. These can be brought to the Mission (please call first) or church on Sunday morning. Perhaps consider sponsoring a child or family for registration costs; or donating coloring books, games, etc. Or what about supporting our Mini-Market (next date is August 15th) by purchasing some fruits (at the lowest prices) and donating them back to Breakfast Club? 
If you have some time to offer, BC is looking for volunteers, particularly for Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

For more information contact Sue Purcell or Sheila Morrison, breakfastclub.southwestmission@gmail.com

If your child goes to VES and you want to take advantage of breakfast club, you can also get in touch with Sue or Sheila. Registration forms will be available the first day of school from 7:30 am. Breakfast Club takes place at the Mission, school entrance at 631 Melrose.

Mini-market August 1st

Yes, you heard right! After a 6-week hiatus the Mini-market returns to SouthWest Mission next Wednesday, August 1st. Hours are from 10:30 to 3:30 and don't forget that a cold lunch will be served at 12:30, thanks to chef Léonore - who is back from vacation - and a team of volunteers. Not going to lie, the space is still in some disarray from ongoing renovations, but we are coping! Check out the attached Mini-market price list and consider calling or e-mailing your order in in advance.

Oui, vous avez bien entendu! Après un hiatus de 6 semaines, le Mini-marché est de retour à la Mission mercredi prochain, le 1er août. Les heures d'ouverture sont de 10h30 à 15h30 et n'oublions pas qu'un déjeuner froid sera servi à 12h30, grâce à la cheffe Léonore - de retour de vacances - et à une équipe de bénévoles. Ne pas mentir, l'espace est encore dans un certain désarroi des rénovations en cours, mais nous faisons face! Consultez la liste de prix ci-jointe et envisagez d'appeler ou d'envoyer votre commande à l'avance.

Mini-market June 20th

Please join us June 20th for a celebratory Welcome Wednesday. What are we celebrating, you ask? How about everything we've been able to accomplish over the school year that's coming to an end?
We celebrate the time, energy and creativity that Sheila, Maurice, Mackie and others put into the Mini-market every two weeks. From ordering, to setting up and decorating (often on a seasonal theme) to keeping accounts, this has been a colossal task that could only have been accomplished by teamwork.
We celebrate the vision and initiative of our Kitchen Coordinator, Leonore, who guided teams of cooks, working with whatever ingredients were on hand, to produce tasty nutritious community lunches.  By bringing our kitchen up to MAPAQ standards, she was able to revive our partnership with Moisson Montreal, and to obtain meat and fresh produce as well as non-perishables, from them and other organizations. Wednesday lunch went from being every two weeks to every week, attracting a diverse and enthusiastic crowd.
We celebrate Frank, Kathy, Darlene, Lily and others, who have helped organize sales big and small over the year that bring in revenue and help us pay our rent at the Mission! 

As you have probably heard by now, the Mission is part of a renovation project at Verdun Elementary that begins the last week of June. as a result we will be shutting down from June 30th through July 15th, and will have to modify our activities for the rest of the summer. Wednesday's Mini-market will unfortunately be the last until August 1st. This week there will be books and knick-knacks for sale but they will also disappear after that, to return in August.
After June 20th, the formal lunches are suspended until the fall, but we will be having light salad meals outdoors every Wednesday through the summer.

We even celebrate the renovations because, despite any inconvenience, they will ultimately provide a more pleasant environment for us to continue working in. We embrace the challenges of the summer as we look ahead to all we will accomplish in the next school year!

Please click to download the price list for next Wednesday's Mini-market:

Kitchen News

Dear Kitchen Friends,

Due to major renovations, SouthWest Mission will be closed from June 30th to July 15th. The kitchen, however, will be closed all Summer. We will therefore not be able to prepare and serve our usual Welcome Wednesday community lunches.

THAT’S OK !
That’s ok because we’re never short of ideas, and here is our latest : we will be replacing our 3-course menu with something much easier that we baptized SIMPLE SUMMER.

Every Wed. from July 18th to August 29th, 12 :30 pm, we will be serving salad in the courtyard at the entrance of the Mission.

In preparation, I’m starting to recruit people of good will who would like to participate in the process. The ingredients will be given to you, the food prep kitchen is still to be determined.

This is what the process will look like :

1)   Make salad
2)   Bring salad to Mission by Wednesday noon
3)   Help set up outside for service
4)   Help with service
5)   Help with cleanup.

Ideally, we would have a team of 3 volunteers in each Wednesday.
Is this a project for you ? Do you have free Wednesdays over the Summer?
Please let me know asap, this is the time !

Léonore Pion
Cuisinière communautaire
Coordonnatrice des activités de cuisine, Mission du Sud-Ouest
leonore.pion@gmail.com 

St. Jean Baptiste Mobile Brunch

It seems the road won't be torn up yet, so we are going ahead with this planned collaboration with our Sikh neighbours. On Sunday, June 24th, weather permitting, SouthWest church will be offering sweets and lemonade out on the church lawn at 11:30. If that stimulates your appetite, you can move on at 12:30 to the Guru Nanak Temple just steps away on Ouimet for a savoury buffet! What a delicious way to celebrate the diversity of Quebec in 2018!