NDG Food Depot celebrates 30 years of feeding the community

From a dark, crowded room where volunteers simply handed people bags of food to a warm and welcoming community space with fresh meals, organizers say the NDG Food Depot has come a long way over the past three decades.

Bonnie Soutar, the director of development at the food depot, said she's been there for almost 20 years and has seen the depot grow to include programs that give children fresh snacks, teach people how to cook different cultural dishes and help volunteers gain skills to enter the workforce.

"To see the evolution in this place, it's really inspiring. It's an incredible team and it's an incredible community," said Soutar.

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Soutar said that food is often a starting point that leads toconversations in whichpeople canopen up about having trouble getting access to health care or asking how to get out of unsanitary living conditions, like bed bugs.

"We can help with so many things, people just have to come and ask for help," said Soutar, adding that if they don't have an answer they canreach out to other community groups who may be able to help.

The food depot has also had its share of success stories. Soutar said she recently heard from a family which used the food depot when they arrived in Canada. The family, now doing well, said it was in a position to give back and wanted to sponsor a family over the holidays.

For John Brennan,volunteering at the NDG Food Depot is a family affair. Brennan said he started volunteering at the depot a year and a half ago after retiring. His daughter also volunteers.

"We work with the same team every week, we've become a tight knit group," said Brennan.

Demand increasing, need for fresh produce

A recent report by Food Banks Canada revealed that more Quebecers are turning to food banks to keep food on the table.

Soutar said she's seen demand climb over the years, in particular among children and seniors.

"It's really shocking to see our seniors not doing well," said Soutar, adding they've seen 30 per cent more seniors in the past year.

As an example, Soutar said just this month a couple in their 80s had run out of money only two-thirds of the way into the month. She believes that many seniors living on a fixed income cannot keep up with rising expenses, including rent.

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In recent years the NDG Food Depot has made a big push towards providing fresh produce, said Soutar. She explained that they've had to increase their budget in orderto buy those fruit and vegetables.

Soutar said that the depot will be running its annual food drive December 3.