Q&A: How does your local meal program help solve the problem of food waste

Many Londoners cannot afford food, yet food waste is a huge problem both in Canada and around the world. The London Meal Program helps solve both problems at the same time.

Heather McNamara and her team of volunteers serve three meals a week at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Paul and the church of St. John the Evangelist. Otherwise, all the food could be wasted.

She spoke with McNamara, coordinator of the Fellowship Center in St. Paul’s Social Services London, CBC Morning host Andrew Brown on this topic.

The following information has been edited for length and clarity.

Andrew Brown: You serve three meals a week. Where does all food come from?

Heather McNamara: It’s all saved food. We get it in grocery stores and some institutions. This is food that is basically already on its way home. We spend a lot of time driving around collecting donations. We then repurpose the food and create larger meals for our guests.

One of the beautiful things that has come out of the Covid pandemic is how willing people have been to help. Restaurants were closed and restaurant suppliers had nowhere to ship food. So they handed it over and we started learning how to recreate meals. Now we’re going to do it hardcore. There is plenty of food in the community.

AB: What types of food do you serve?

HM: Last week was great fun because we received a donation of boiled duck. So we served duck to our guests and they liked it very much. I don’t know about you, but I don’t eat duck at home. They were very excited to try it out.

We tried lots of different new things. We got a few hundred pounds of sausages, so we made a big jambalaya out of it. We made rice, vegetables, peppers. They thought it was great.

Our soups are crazy concoctions. We post all sorts of things, things you would never think of. We’ll take the chicken pâté, chop it up and add it to the soup. If we add this small mountain of dough at the last minute, it will turn into dumplings.

I think it’s amazing what we do. I know guests love it and that’s the goal.

AB: Who do you cook for?

HM: Anyone can come. Everyone from students, to people just looking for a meal, to people without housing.

AB: How do you deal with volunteers?

HM: Our volunteers are amazing. I am blessed and happy that we have volunteers. We are very good at preparing food. We need help in the form of drivers who will collect donations. So if anyone would be interested in helping, we’d be happy to help.

Cathedral of St. Paul’s is located at 472 Richmond St. in London and on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Fellowship Center for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Church of St. John the Evangelist is located at 280 St James St., where community dinners are held every Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.