The debate over food

I came across some interesting news last week that we posted to our Facebook page. And by your reaction and the number of times you shared the story, it created a bit of a buzz.

In France, a law has been passed that bans large supermarkets from throwing out unsold food. The law obligates them to donate it to charities. And in Germany, a network of free food distribution sites was set up (in addition to the existing food banks) as a way to distribute unused food. A study found that more than 60 per cent of food waste in Germany was unnecessary. People were shocked.

Some Ottawa grocery stores are very good at finding a new home for the food they can’t sell. We benefit from their generosity. But do we need a law like the one they have in France? I’d love to hear what you think.

I wonder how many people know where we get our food. It’s obvious it’s donated. But where does it actually come from? Well, as I mentioned, some of it comes from grocery stores. Another chunk comes from small markets, bakeries, independent food stores, school can drives, food producers, and ordinary Ottawans who stop by our back door at 233 Murray St. You can never give too little. We take whatever donation you can give us.

We have a lot of regular donors, but we also have a lot of unexpected donations. Earlier this week, we had someone drop off a few tubs of ice cream. That’s a great dessert to serve in the soup kitchen, especially on a hot day. We also had a group drop off a box of muffins that they had bought for a company event. It might have been 20 muffins but that meant 20 men and women who use our services every day were able to have a muffin for breakfast or maybe as an evening snack when they came to our drop-in. Another example is a company that held a staff barbecue and had several packages of hot dog rolls and hamburger buns left over. We can us all of this in our soup kitchen or in our grocery program.

We all need shelter and we all need food. The 1,600 men and women who use our services every day are no different. If you would like to donate to our grocery program, it’s as simple as dropping it off at 233 Murray St. You can also contact Dan, who runs the grocery and clothing program, at 613-789-8210, ext. 243.

(Below, ice creamed is served earlier this week in the soup kitchen at 233 Murray St.)