About the Food for All committee
We believe that access to food is a fundamental part of dignity and self-determination for undocumented migrants and all those who face poverty and precarity. We believe that the practice of denying services to people, including at food banks, is deeply discriminatory.
Part of the struggle to break down borders within our city is to ensure that people have access to services without fear. All Montrealers should be able to access food services, status or no status. In building a Solidarity City, we are opposing fear, isolation, precarity, and division.
We therefore ask emergency food aid providers to implement a Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy and refuse to do the work of immigration enforcement by publicly declaring food banks to be off limits to CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency).
In addition to working to ensure food banks are accessible to all, we also work to change the system that creates the very inequities that necessitate the need for food banks in the first place.
We demand access to healthy food for everyone regardless of immigration status!
Need support? Get in touch!
food4allmontreal@gmail.com, 438- 933-7654
Our main activities:
- Food support for individuals and families with precarious status, including monthly food deliveries
- Workshops for food service organizations
- Community meals
We are currently working in collaboration with The People’s Potato, Le Frigo Vert food co-op, and Co-op les Jardins de la Resistance.
Download our brochure here.
See other Food for All posts here.
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Food for All BBQ report-back, 2013
On Thursday, August 29th, the Food 4 All committee of Solidarity Across Borders (SAB) held its first ever end-of-summer BBQ gathering. The event was held at the Reseau d’entraide de Verdun, which also co-organized the BBQ with SAB. The Réseau is an important food security organisation in the south-west of Montreal which provides low-income residents in Verdun with access to free or low-cost healthy food, and organizes collective kitchen cooking sessions. Over the last couple of years, the Food 4 All committee and the Réseau have been working closely together to fight for improved access to food aid for undocumented migrants in Montreal.
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Over 100 people from all walks of life attended the free BBQ on August 29 (so many that we almost ran out of food!). People enjoyed hamburgers and veggies from the grill, listened to presentations from SAB members, and had the chance to network among food aid organizations to discuss implementing the Food 4 All campaign. The Food 4 All committee also distributed signs for food organizations to put in their windows to inform undocumented migrants that they can access their services without fear of being asked for their papers or status (download signs here & here).
How you can help
The Food 4 All committee is planning to work this fall with food banks and food aid organizations throughout Montreal to encourage as many as possible to ensure access to food services without fear, by putting an end to the discriminatory practice of asking for ID or other documents that non-status residents are unable to obtain, and by publicly declaring their food bank to be off limits to the CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency). Immigration enforcement is not the job of service providers. For service spaces to be truly safe and accessible, immigration authorities should therefore not be admitted. We need your help!
Here are a few ways that you can support the Food 4 All campaign of Solidarity Across Borders:
1. Sign the Solidarity City declaration
If you work in a food aid organization, or any other organization for that matter, please consider signing our declaration, and pass it on to co-workers.
http://www.
2. Invite the Food 4 All committee to give a presentation on our work
We would love to give a short or in-depth presentation to your board of directors, staff team, or members. If you are interested, don’t hesitate to ask us! food4allmontreal@gmail.com
3. Get involved in the committee!
If you are able to attend meetings, network with other organizations, help put up posters, or give presentations, we are always looking for new members. Send us an email or give us a call, and find out how to get involved! food4allmontreal@gmail.com, 438-933-7654
