BCNG Portals Page

By Philip Raphael
Staff=20 reporter
Apr 20 2007=20

A group of volunteers from South Delta have been reaching = out,=20 without fail, to the downtown east side for 25 years=20

Hermann Glockl=E2=80=99s trusty, 1973 Pinto Station Wagon = pulls up=20 curbside at Main and Hastings outside the Carnegie Centre on = the=20 edgy, downtown east side streets of Vancouver.=20

The Tsawwassen resident jumps out with co-worker Wayne = Bergman=20 not far behind and together they set up a small, collapsible = table,=20 haul out a portable Coleman camping stove to re-heat a pot = of=20 homemade soup, and unpack a cooler of prepared sandwiches.=20

A small, curious crowd slowly gathers. And by some = street-borne=20 instinct, they orderly queue up as Glockl and Bergman serve = the=20 welcomed nourishment=20

It=E2=80=99s January, 1983, the beginning of an = outreach=E2=80=94and Food on the=20 Corner is born.=20

Almost 25 years later, the Saturday morning ritual = continues.=20

Glockl, along with a cast of South Delta volunteers pack = soup and=20 sandwiches into a boxy, white delivery van (the Pinto has = long-since=20 been replaced) in the parking lot outside = Tsawwassen=E2=80=99s Thrifty Foods=20 and make the trek downtown.=20

And since the first trip in 1983, Food on the Corner has = never=20 missed a weekend feast outside the provincial courthouse = building at=20 222 Main Street, in the heart of Canada=E2=80=99s poorest = postal code.=20

The Canadian connection=20

=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s very sad in many ways there is the = need, but at the same=20 time we are happy to fill that need,=E2=80=9D says Glockl, = whose dedication=20 to the cause stems in part from his childhood in post-war = Germany.=20 His parents tried to provide what they could, but food was = scarce.=20

Aid packages from Canada helped fill the void.=20

=E2=80=9CI remember those packages. I was six years old. = Today, I can=20 still taste the hot chocolate and candy that was = inside,=E2=80=9D Glockl=20 says. =E2=80=9CAnd I remember thinking how wonderful it was = for someone so=20 far away to send us a package of food.=20

=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99ll never forget that.=E2=80=9D=20

In similar fashion the generosity displayed by the Food = on the=20 Corner volunteers has left an indelible mark on many. And = with up to=20 300 people being fed each Saturday, it makes for quite an = impact.=20

=E2=80=9CAnd every one of them has a good story,=E2=80=9D = says volunteer Tom=20 Scott.=20

=E2=80=9CAnd while you might make assumptions about how = they got where=20 they are, they=E2=80=99re not unlike any one of us who might = easily find=20 themselves in the same place.=E2=80=9D=20

Scott says one man he encountered was injured on the job, = did not=20 have any other means of income and found the downtown east = side the=20 only place he could afford to live.=20

=E2=80=9CWhen I see a man standing in the cold rain, = patiently waiting in=20 line, I know he=E2=80=99s hungry,=E2=80=9D adds 90-year-old = Peggy Lowe, who is a=20 past president of the society and a long-time volunteer.=20

She remains active with Food on the Corner because of the = personal contact with people and knows her efforts can make = a big=20 difference.=20

=E2=80=9CSometimes this is the best meal these people get = all week,=E2=80=9D she=20 says.=20

Getting prepared=20

Making the whole process tick over with militaristic = precision=20 each week is a network of volunteers, says Rick Lewall, the=20 society=E2=80=99s current president.=20

A complex flow chart in the society=E2=80=99s annual = report booklet shows=20 how soup and sandwich makers, and a huge amount of donated=20 goods=E2=80=94bread, baked goods and coffee=E2=80=94are = prepared and gathered=20 through the week and loaded on to the van and transported = downtown=20 by 11 a.m.=20

=E2=80=9CIn total, we have about 110 volunteers who = rotate the=20 responsibilities,=E2=80=9D Lewall says. =E2=80=9CSome of = them make soup once every=20 four or five weeks, and others make the sandwiches. In a = year, we=20 produce about 10,000 to 12,000 meals.=E2=80=9D=20

One of those soup-makers is Vickie Sangster.=20

=E2=80=9CI just enjoy helping others, and from my small = contrubition I=20 know it can make a difference,=E2=80=9D she says.=20

Taking it to the streets=20

The Saturday morning excursion to Vancouver begins with a = steady=20 parade of volunteers driving up to the Food on the Corner = van in the=20 Thrifty Foods parking lot. They happily hand over their = donations of=20 sandwiches or soup. And hugs and thanks are exchanged.=20

Before departing, the volunteers who will be serving the = food=20 downtown gather and link hands for a short prayer. = It=E2=80=99s the only=20 hint this group is made up chiefly of church-goers.=20

=E2=80=9CWe don=E2=80=99t push the religion = thing,=E2=80=9D Glockl says. =E2=80=9CWe set up a=20 small table with pamphlets and people pick them up if they = want to.=E2=80=9D=20

Then it=E2=80=99s time to go.=20

Forty-five minutes later the food-laden van rambles = around the=20 corner to Main Street. A growing line of those anticipating = its=20 arrival on an unseasonably cold spring day snakes its way = back from=20 near the front steps of the provincial courthouse.=20

As soon as the van stops the volunteers are in = action=E2=80=94tables are=20 set up, soup buckets unloaded, and seemingly countless bags = of bread=20 donated from the local Safeway and Thrifty Foods are given = away.=20

=E2=80=9CWe live in a relatively affluent community in = Tsawwassen, so it=20 stands to reason we share some of it,=E2=80=9D says Eric = Amlin, who has been=20 a volunteer driver for the society for three years.=20

Street level appreciation=20

The effort is not lost on those waiting for a steaming = styrofoam=20 cup of soup and plastic-wrapped sandwich.=20

=E2=80=9CThey are unbelievable. It=E2=80=99s = unbelievable, that people from so=20 far away would spend the time to come out here and help us = out,=E2=80=9D=20 says Douglas, who adds he has been living on the streets for = years=20 and looks forward to the weekly visit. =E2=80=9CHey, = it=E2=80=99s the highlight of=20 my weekend when I see that big white van pull up.=E2=80=9D=20

=E2=80=9CThis is the best. I can=E2=80=99t tell you how = much this means to me,=E2=80=9D=20 adds Keith, who is already lining up for seconds, cup in = hand and=20 busily cramming his first round of sandwiches in his = pockets.=20

Others behind him are doing the same, stocking up on as = much as=20 they can.=20

=E2=80=9CWe don=E2=80=99t mind people coming back for = more as long as everyone=20 gets fed at least once,=E2=80=9D Lowe says.=20

In the background, a duo from a Vancouver church strum = their=20 guitars and sing. Meanwhile, a steady cavalcade of police = and fire=20 trucks roll by, their sirens competing with the music.=20

There=E2=80=99s no mistaking these are the streets of = desperation.=20

Yet, there=E2=80=99s a festival-like atmosphere as the = enticing waft of=20 rich soup and coffee flows through the crisp air.=20

Smiles are on most of the faces receiving a meal. Others = look=20 downcast, almost embarrassed to be in line.=20

But kind words of encouragement and support are offered = by the=20 volunteers ladeling soup and handing over sandwiches.=20

=E2=80=9CMost people are pretty quiet and don=E2=80=99t = say much,=E2=80=9D Lowe says.=20 =E2=80=9CBut I try and talk to everyone.=E2=80=9D=20

And that=E2=80=99s the key=E2=80=94making contact to let = people know that someone=20 out there cares, adds Glockl.=20

=E2=80=9CIt changes you when you help others,=E2=80=9D = Glockl says. =E2=80=9CIt changes=20 your attitude. I am now more aware of those who are in need. = And=20 that definitely makes for a more fulfilling = life.=E2=80=9D=20