Lawyers Feed the Hungry, the meal program run out of the cafeteria at Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, has now been in operation for over a decade. Each week, close to a thousand guests are served a hot meal four times per week (Wednesday and Friday dinner, and Thursday and Sunday breakfast), as well as a bag lunch at the latter three meals. In effect, guests are provided with a free meal for every day of the week.
Many members of the profession think about helping out with the program from time to time but lack access to a practical guide to becoming a volunteer. The program recently launched a helpful new website (http://www.lawyersfeedthehungry.ca), but here’s what you need to know that the website doesn’t tell you, according to one of the program’s volunteer coordinators, Jay Brecher:
1. Who can volunteer?
Program volunteers include judges, lawyers, paralegals, law clerks, law librarians, articling students, law students, and many others with no direct affiliation with the legal profession.
2. What are the volunteer hours for each meal?
Volunteers generally start to arrive 45-60 minutes before the start of each meal. Some volunteers will stay to help clean up, for about 15 minutes after the meal ends. The times when each meal is served are as follows:
Wed. – 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Thu. – 6:45-7:30 a.m.
Fri. – 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Sun. – 9:00-10:00 a.m.
In order to make a sufficient number of bag lunches before the Friday dinner begins, some Friday volunteers are needed as early as 3:00 or 3:30 p.m.
3. Which meals are most in need of volunteers?
The Friday dinner was launched less than two months ago, and hence is still building its roster of regular volunteers. Also, a number of the volunteers are on vacation for at least part of the summer. Hence, the Friday crew has sometimes found itself short-handed in recent weeks.
The Thursday breakfast is also sometimes in need of more volunteers. The early start time of the breakfast (6:45 a.m.) and the even earlier start time of meal preparations (6:00-6:30 a.m.) usually deters those who aren’t early-morning risers.
4. Which meals are busiest, and when?
The Wednesday and Sunday meals attract the largest turnout, at times exceeding 300 guests. Thus far, the turnout for Fridays has ranged from 150-250, while the Thursday breakfast usually has between 80-120.
Adverse whether conditions can reduce the numbers, and there’s often an increase during the spring and summer months, when some of the other local soup kitchens do not operate.
5. Where can I park my car if I’m driving to Osgoode?
The City of Toronto provides the program with free parking vouchers for the lot underneath Nathan Phillips Square, adjacent to Osgoode Hall. There are different vouchers for each of the four meals, covering all of the volunteer hours outlined above. However, striking city workers are presently picketing in front of all entrances and exits to that parking lot, can result in a delay in exiting the garage.
For the breakfasts, free street parking is available until 8:00 a.m. on Thursdays and 1:00 p.m. on Sundays (after which parking meters must be used). The nearest street parking is just north of Osgoode, on Armoury St. or Chestnut St.
For more information about how to participate, contact Jay Brecher at jay.brecher@gmail.com.
Gary–thank you so much for a reminder about this important program, and some good tips for getting us started!