Counters against food insecurity

It was first the need, then the outrage that led Atlantide Desrochers to look into the issue of food waste. Five years later, at the head of a citizen movement that has become a non-profit organization, the resident of Plateau Mont-Royal intends to take the fight beyond her neighborhood. Partage et Solidarité collects surplus food on a daily basis in order to redistribute it every week to six (soon to be seven) food counters. It is early afternoon and, in the middle of a room bustling with activity, food is piling up for future distribution. It is hard to believe that there will be nothing left in a few hours. However, this is what the founder tells us, who explains to us how this sharing process was implemented, whose success testifies to the need for it.

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Ms. Desrochers, how did you come to launch Sharing and Solidarity?

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This was not at all planned in my career. I was going through a difficult time and saw how resources could be lacking. While looking for solutions, I realized the waste, especially discovering the situation in the trash cans when I was walking with my children. I created Sharing and Solidarity a bit by chance. The first year, I did not have an organization, but there were merchants who gave me products. I made a fridge at home, the Frigo Plateau. A year later, I created the fridge at the Friendship Cabin, with the Friendship Community Center. Quietly, with the fridge, it became distribution. I opened the first counter in 2018. There are now six. Every month, we distribute 2,000 community baskets, consisting of breads, vegetables, vegetarian and vegan products, which feed 8,000 people. We are talking about 41 businesses that participate, including supermarkets. This is a major first, as many had exclusivity with other organizations. Between donations, it would be a shame if these foods didn't go anywhere.

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How do Partage et Solidarité food counters operate?

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They are mobile counters. We arrive, and when we leave, there is nothing left of us. People just need to book an appointment, via Facebook, email, or on our website — it's very easy. All they have to do is give their names and indicate the number of people in the house to make baskets that correspond to the size of the family. Then all they have to do is show up. In a food bank, access is restricted. A lot of information is required. People have to tell their full story and file their taxes from the previous year to get something. Sometimes they are even asked how they got there. Some don't dare to go back, it puts them in atrocious situations. I thought it was total nonsense. It's important to understand that anyone can go through bad times. No one is immune to a mishap or problems. These counters are therefore there for everyone, whether you are going through a bad spell and whether it is temporary or for longer. Anyone who feels they need food is welcome. There is no questionnaire or application to fill out. We collect products in the morning, and we sort and distribute in the afternoon. We are in a different place every day; we share premises. We arrive, we pick up food in a neighborhood and we give back to the people in the neighborhood. The idea is to create local infrastructures, which are managed by the people in the neighborhood. The project leaders are people from the neighborhood who want to see improvements. We could do it in every neighborhood if we had more resources. There are 5 employees and 70 volunteers. Each person who comes to volunteer with us receives two grocery bags of food that they choose. Some provide administrative support or do canvassing, especially with retailers, and others who help us find grants.

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What has been the impact of COVID-19 on food distribution?

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I never asked for proof; I've even already lost potential funders because I didn't want to ask people for it. All we need to know is whether people are there or not. With COVID-19, it has become acceptable. It changed the dynamic, the project became more legitimate. The government and the people understood that it can happen to anyone, to lose their job, to have financial problems, to not be able to get by. It has become much more visible. There has been an increase in demand, and the reality is that new counters have been created. And at each counter, demand exploded. My priority is for people to eat all year round, but it's very difficult in January and February. After the holidays. You have to think about it a lot, these are very hard months. Fruits and vegetables are harder to get, much harder to get in the winter. You have to run more shops. You have to think that there are people who cannot get around as easily, even if they need food. As long as there is snow, people need a lot more support. We receive a lot of elderly people and families. The atmosphere has been more difficult since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Several initiatives have shown the difficulty in obtaining donations from retailers. How do you go about it?

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I prepared a public consultation on this issue, so that everyone is aware of the situation and so that people and organizations that want to recover food know that there are tools. I wrote A memoir which explains everything that can be done in Quebec and elsewhere. Retailers are much more complicated. They want to give, they don't like to throw away. The problem is all the work that needs to be done around it. It must be said that we are not asking them for a service, we are offering them one. We get back their unsold items, anything that is viable. For stores, these are big savings. Trade would not have to get rid of its trade surplus as often. For example, we are talking about 20, 25 cases per day in a supermarket that we visit. I emphasize that we are not going to beg. We offer a collection and distribution service that the merchant does not have to manage. Partage et Solidarité is a charitable organization, and a merchant can, if he wishes, receive a receipt for his donation. Often, the latter is super busy and has a lot to manage. If we don't give him the tools, if we tell him that we will be there, that we are punctual, that we have our own cash registers, that it advertises him, that he saves money and if we give him a charity receipt if he wishes, he might listen. It needs to become more and more normal. When I first approached retailers five years ago, it was still complex. Today, there are some waiting for me, so we have come a long way. When I first approached them, I was holding my baby in my arms. I was rebellious. I aimed the cameras to show the contents of the trash cans to the public. I took a lot of photos to share them on social networks asking how come we put this in the trash? I encouraged people to help me, that's how it worked. I started with the idea that it's more normal to give than to throw away.

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There are several counters on the Plateau. Are we getting the wrong idea of the district?

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The Plateau is not just what you think. For example, I live in a family co-op, on a very popular street in the Plateau, where there are very spacious houses. My children go to the same school as children from wealthy families, with also others who live in public housing. As you can see, they are different lives. Since it's a school in a wealthy neighborhood, there's no subsidy for snacks, for example. Day camps are double the price of camps in other neighborhoods. Since I have three kids, it would have cost me more than I made in a week, so I brought them to work with me. This is the reality for many people. Poverty on the Plateau is hard to live with. We also talk about businesses that are very expensive, so it's hard to be poor on the Plateau — everything is expensive around. We still want to go outside the neighborhood. There is a counter in Centre-Sud, which is a first step. I tried other neighborhoods, but it did not work, I did not find premises. In March, I opened a new counter in Côte-des-Neiges.

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What does Sharing and Solidarity need the most right now?

In terms of hardware, it's difficult. We went from two to six counters in a year and a half, and we only have one truck for 15 tons of food. It's tight. Volunteers are always needed, but above all, we need retailers to donate. They play an essential role. People who can afford can donate financially. This allows us to pay our employees and get the truck rolling. Social media support is also very important for us.

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Food distribution is by appointment:

• on Mondays at the LGBTQ+ Community Center, at 2075 Plessis Street, office 110;
• on Tuesdays at the Espace Temps-Libre, at 5605, avenue de Gaspé, office 106;
• Wednesday at the Maison des Jeunes du Plateau, at 5046 Cartier Street;
• on Friday at the Centre du Plateau, at 2275 Saint-Joseph Blvd East;
• on Saturday at the Friendship House, 120 Duluth Street East;
• and on Sundays at the Milton-Parc Recreational Association, at 3590 Jeanne-Mance Street (Les Galeries du Parc).

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To go further:

• Atlantide Desrochers submitted a petition with more than 15,000 signatures to the City of Montreal. This initiative led to a public consultation on December 3, 2020. Last April, the Committee on the Environment presented its official recommendations (21). These include the ban on looting from 2022 and the obligation to conclude a recovery agreement for all traders by 2025.
• Following another public consultation, the City of Montreal proposes in the 2020-2025 Residual Materials Management Plan to reduce food waste by 50% by 2025.
• Ms. Desroches submitted a petition against food waste to the National Assembly in 2019 with the support of Ruba Ghazal, deputy for Mercier.