Miracle of September 13
I’ll be curious to see how well the Miracle of September 13 goes off. In theory, everyone puts a non-perishable food item on their doorstep for noon on Sunday, from where they will be picked up by volunteers. Just passing this along.
MarcG 10:29 on 2020-09-13 Permalink
Thanks for the tip. We’ve had a bag full of canned stuff we inherited and don’t want in the garage but haven’t donated because it’s not, for us, an essential outing.
Kate 10:31 on 2020-09-13 Permalink
I’m going to feel a bit silly if I put a bag of lentils or a tin of tuna on my steps and nobody takes it.
I also feel inspired to do a cartoon of a Westmount/Outremont mansion with steps going down and a single tin of tuna at the bottom.
Michael Black 11:39 on 2020-09-13 Permalink
I’m not sure I’ve seen this mentioned in old media. The first place I saw it was at that local website that shouldn’t be mentioned, so the state of the project was unclear. Was it serious or just a half-baked idea that the website had picked up on? That map on their website shows density but it’s hard to judge. I didn’t see an easy way to check your neighborhood to make sure collectors were in place.
They obviously need people to put items out, but that won’t mean a thing if the stuff isn’t picked up.
The NDG Food Depot has long done this, in an area somewhat wider than NDG but still a contained area. Sometimes a brown bag has arrived with the flyers, as a reminder but also something to fill, the details printed on the bag. They seem pleased with results, but I wonder if some streets or areas are better than others, so maybe targetting makes more sense.
Then there’s a bigger issue. Food banks were temporary when they started decades ago, and collecting cans seemed like an easy way to get donations. Some canned stuff is great, but I wouldn’t want to rely on it. But I’ve seen at least two opinion pieces in recent years (definitely one last year) from people involved basically begging for no more food donations. They get expired stuff, or odd things that people had and “donate” to get rid of. They get basics, but often not a good variety. So people have to make do with a random assortment. But they also say it’s inefficient, that if people just gave money they could buy in bulk and get more for the money, and not have to deal with unwanted items. So I wonder how this project fits into that?
Kate 12:26 on 2020-09-13 Permalink
Michael Black, you make good points here. I remember being told in school to bring in some non-perishable food item, and my mother would scrounge up some odd tin from the back of the cupboard. It really does make more sense for food banks to ask for money so they can provide the most-used basic supplies rather than tins of smoked oysters somebody bought on a whim and never had the nerve to try.
Daniel 16:13 on 2020-09-13 Permalink
I’m glad you posted about this, Kate. Wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. Our donation has been picked up. I’m willing to believe this is not the ideal solution, but I’m hoping it’s better than nothing. (I’ve given money, too, because, yeah, how could food banks NOT need and use money.)
My thanks to those who collected on this rainy afternoon.