This morning, I rode in the truck with Samuel and made a few drops en-route to FCJ Refugee Centre. I'm supposed to take pictures of the place for the Second Harvest quarterly newsletter.
First task, load the truck. Frozen pizza seems to be the theme of the day as I start to load boxes and boxes of it onto the truck. Lot's of potatoes and fresh produce as well including grapefruit, organges, and baby bock choy.
The first drop is with a day camp in the Jane-Finch corridor. As soon as the truck pulls up, I see three smiley faces eager to greet us. Now it's unloading time. We're told the pizza will be a hit with the kids but the quantity and variety of vegetables are what really excites the cook.
Next stop takes us to a government sponsored organization that helps new immigrants find jobs and housing. They have a subsidized cafeteria where a swap of sorts is happening. We drop off more produce and meat and receive some prepared meals that will go to another agency.
Finally I'm at FCJ Refugee Center Araceli greets me at the truck as does Loly Rico. They're all smiles. After unloading a couple boxes I start snapping shots. After the food is loaded I bid farewell to the driver and Aracely and Loly take me for a tour. The FCJ Refugee Center creates a community for new refugees to help them start their life in Toronto. They also give temporary shelter to refugees in their four houses.
I go to the kitchen where Aracely and the residents prepare their meals. She tells me that before Second Harvest, FCJ residents had to purchase all of their own food; now they can spend some of that money on other necessities or on programs for the kids. Aracely ends the tour telling me, "What Second Harvest does is really great. Giving us food is like funding us only it serves to directly benefit the people who need it."
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