By Roman Zakaluzny
Two weeks ago, three hard-working Ottawa residents visited a food bank for the first time.
Cecilia, 22, her boyfriend Tim, 23, and their friend Kristy, 20, (not their real names), are all former Nova Scotians who met in Ottawa.
For the last few months, they’ve been eking out a life together near Ottawa’s Experimental Farms.
All three do shift work at restaurants.
But fate, rising rent and an unkind former roommate came together in one unfavourable moment in September, and they did something that once seemed unthinkable to them: they went to Parkdale Food Centre as clients.
“We went in because we couldn’t afford to buy food that month,” is the simple reason, says Cecilia.
Initially, they thought they could make it to their next paycheques without buying groceries, courtesy of their employers.
“We could all have one meal a day for free at work,” she says.
“But then we found out Cecilia was pregnant,”says Tim. “We knew we had to get the right foods.”
Normally, the three are able to make ends meet.The house they rent at $1,345 a month is manageable.
Sometimes, the threesome (who are not on social assistance) even had enough money to make a donation or two to the food bank.
But a former roommate has put them into the red, stiffing them for two months rent and $400 in long-distance phone charges, not to mention the food he stole when he hosted a party while the other three were out.
“He left us a lot in debt,” says Cecilia. “You got to pay it off, though.”
“We really didn’t want to go,” she says about the food bank.
“We passed the centre on our way to work every day on the bus, and so we knew it was there and open on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So on Thursday, we were all free in the early afternoon before work, and went.”
Initially, the staff at Parkdale told them that they should visited a food bank closer to their home.
“They told us we were in the wrong area,” says Cecilia.
“But they gave us food for a couple of days anyway, since we told them we were pressed for time. They were really nice.”
For Tim, looking for a handout of groceries from the food bank was humbling.
“I was kind of embarrassed. It was my first time. It was all of our first times,” he says of the trip.
“But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I could see myself there again if need be, if this kind of situation ever happened again.”
Not that they’re planning on making a habit out of it.
While the temporary relief they received will tide them over until payday, it is by no means a reliable or dependable source of food for three young, working, people, one of whom is expecting
But it did stock their pantry and fridge, empty till then, with something.
“They didn’t have any bread this week, so they gave us some hot dog and hamburger buns, some powdered milk, some non-perishables,” says Cecilia.
“Some cookies and cereal, too. And we got to choose two out of three fruits and three out of four vegetables.”