By Nadine Robitaille
A fall donation to the Ottawa Food Bank had a lukewarm reception from community agencies and the homeless they serve.
About 30,000 Hot Packs were donated by local businesses in a November campaign led by the Ottawa Business Journal. The Food Bank then distributed the self-heating meal packs to 70 organizations across the region to mixed reviews.
While some out-reach workers say the packs have been helpful and served a purpose, others question if the money could have been better spent.
“Four people can be fed soup kitchen meals for the price of one Hot Pack,” says Union Mission manager Suzanne Gervais.
For $1.19, clients can eat a full meal of two hot entrees, bread, juice, tea and dessert at the Mission. A single Hot Pack meal costs $5.
But Lynda Boisvenue, who is in charge of the Hot Packs program at the Ottawa Business Journal, says the Hot Packs were never intended to replace regular soup kitchen meals.
“The purpose of the Hot Packs is to feed people who come in (the shelters) in the middle of the night or for children whose parents are on drugs and who otherwise would only have chips for dinner,” says Boisvenue.
The packs contain a pad filled with an iron magnesium alloy. When combined with the 40 millilitres of salt water included in the pack, the pad heats up. The pad is then wrapped around the meal and left for 12 minutes until the food steams.
Though some responses were negative, many agencies say the Hot Packs have been of great help. “For people who stay outside the Hot Packs have been useful,” says Clara Freire, the co-ordinator of Centre 507 Drop In. “People like the fact that the food comes to them.”
Colin Chalk, the events co-ordinator of the Ottawa Food Bank, agrees.
“People are enjoying (the Hot Packs) and they are proving to be quite useful to a specialized portion of the community,” he says.
Chalk adds the Food Bank has been very careful to campaign for Hot Packs separately from regular donation campaigns.
“We don’t want to detract from the regular donations and get swamped with Hot Packs,” says Chalk. So far this hasn’t happened, he adds.
Like Chalk, Gervais maintains Hot Packs shouldn’t replace regular food donations.
“If I had a choice I would prefer the individual meals over the Hot Packs,”says Gervais. “(The kitchen meals) are hot, they’re fresh and they’re healthy.”
While the Hot Packs are also hot and healthy, they don’t offer much in terms of variety, adds Gervais.
“It gets monotonous to eat the same thing all the time,” she says.
There are four types of meals: rotini, chicken and vegetables, shepherd’s pie and Spanish breakfast.
Most kinds were enjoyed, but the Spanish Breakfast meal, which consists of beans and sausage covered in a sauce, was considered too runny and too salty by Mission clients and is no longer served.
Other agencies, who didn’t want to be identified, experienced similar responses from clients.
For those who miss the Mission’s meals or who are staying outside, the Hot Packs are practical.
No stove or microwave is needed to heat the meals, and dishes are not required. The pads can also be worn inside a jacket after heating up a meal.
The Ottawa Business Journal is planning another Hot Pack campaign during Winterlude.