When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, local food bank Bouffe Pontiac lost most of its volunteers. But as the organization provided an essential service, its few paid staff couldn’t go home.
The service they provided depended on them being present in person to connect Pontiac residents with the food they needed, and during the first years of the pandemic, when many were out of jobs, that need was greater than ever.
Bouffe Pontiac was forced to reimagine how to continue offering its services at a time when public health restrictions prevented any gathering with strangers, and it had to do so with a bare bones staff.
Kim Laroche, executive director of Bouffe Pontiac, led the team through this tumultuous time. She was about a year into the job when the pandemic hit, and said the stresses it caused brought additional challenges to what was already emotionally taxing work.
But she wasn’t without support. Frequent phone calls from the Outaouais branch of Centraide, known in English as United Way, helped get her, and Bouffe Pontiac, through this challenging time.
“What I really appreciate is that on top of the financial support, they’re listening to us,” Laroche said. “In my personal experience, I’ve received a lot of support from the team.”
Laroche explained that while the monetary donations Centraide makes to the food bank are significant in supporting important programing (last year the amount came to about $34,000), the emotional support Centraide offers through phone call, trainings, and counseling is what enables her to continue doing her job.
She described, as an example, a time during the pandemic when the small team was getting burned out, but unable to take leave, so Centraide found funding to hire temporary workers to relieve the permanent staff and allow them to take a break.
Cédric Tessier, executive director of Centraide Outaouais, said this kind of support is integral to the organization’s mission.
“Sometimes it’s very hard when you’re working with people that need help and you don’t have all the resources needed to offer them the help they need,” he said. “So sometimes we are there to encourage employees to do what they can do, and help their community this way.”
Bouffe Pontiac is but one of seven social service organizations in the Pontiac supported by Centraide Outaouais. The others are Centre Serge-Bélair, Comptoir St-Pierre de Fort-Coulonge/Mansfield, Le Jardin Éducatif du Pontiac, Les Maisons des jeunes du Pontiac, Maison de la famille du Pontiac, and Le Patro Fort Coulonge/Mansfield.
“Most of the agencies we support don’t have the capacity to fundraise,” Tessier said. “It takes a lot of time and a lot of resources to establish a fundraiser, so we do that for them and we provide them with the money and the services.”
He explained Centraide’s mission is to fight poverty and social exclusion, which means supporting non-profits that help to keep kids in school, keep seniors connected to their communities, and help immigrants integrate with their new communities, to name but a few of the ways it promotes social inclusion.
“Someone who is excluded from society has a lot more chances to become poor, or have problems with housing and finding jobs and everything else,” Tessier said.
This year, Centraide Outaouais is celebrating its 80th anniversary, and to support the organization in this milestone, the MRC Pontiac is hosting a fundraiser breakfast.
“They’re very present in the Pontiac and do give a fair bit of money to these non-profit organizations to help the vulnerable people in the community,” said Rachel Floar-Sandé, one of the MRC staff tasked with organizing the event. This year Centraide has given over $200,000 to the seven local non-profits.
“We decided that because it was their 80-year anniversary we were going to aim to raise $8,000 and try to get 80 businesses or organizations involved in the breakfast, either by purchasing tickets, or financial donations,” she said, noting businesses can also donate food for the breakfast, or purchase tickets to be distributed to Pontiac residents who might not otherwise be able to attend.
She said this year’s event, the third breakfast fundraiser put on by the MRC, is scheduled for Oct. 2 at the Campbell’s Bay Recreation Centre and will offer a spread of eggs, sausages and bacon, french toast and fresh fruit, and of course, maple syrup.
“It’s something that’s extremely important. We know there are a lot of people in extreme difficulty in the Pontiac and all over,” Floar-Sandé said. “It’s always nice to give back to the community and help people who are in vulnerable positions.”
