'That's real hunger:' Seniors group inspired to feed their own

One of Winnipeg's newest food banks is working to feed some of the city's oldest residents.

Point Douglas's Barber House has been operating as a food bank for five months, but it's always been a place to gather.

Built in 1862, it's one of the oldest houses in Winnipeg. It's home to the North Point Douglas Seniors Association, as well as a full-time daycare centre.

But for those running the house, that wasn't enough.

"We were discovering the seniors — our seniors — really needed this," Sandy Dzedzora, co-ordinator at Barber House, said. "When you're a senior, you tend to become invisible."

Seniors having a 'tough time'

Dzedzora says it's not easy for a lot of Point Douglas seniors to stay healthy. There isn't much accessible or affordable food in the neighbourhood and they don't always have the means to travel far, she says.

"They're having a tough time making any ends meet," Dzedzora says.

She says a large number of the seniors she's met through the association are living off pensions and social assistance and likely can't afford much healthy food.

So, this summer she reached out to Winnipeg Harvest.

She wanted to provide a once-a-week food bank out of the house to provide more guaranteed meals for seniors in the area, she told the organization.

Point Douglas resident Earl Zechel says before Barber House opened the food bank, he was relying on semi-weekly free meals out of one of the local churches.

"I don't have a lot of money, I'm on pension," he says. "The little bit extra that I can get from here sure helps out a lot."

Once Dzedzora and her team got the go-ahead from Harvest, Barber House just needed volunteers. And they weren't hard to find.

People from the neighbourhood, as well as members of the seniors association, were happy to assist.

"It's good to help out," Reggie Eagle Child, a long-time volunteer and member at Barber House, says.

"It's good to be out of the house and doing something, too."

Eagle Child stops by Barber House a few times a week. He was already teaching art and Indigenous crafts to other members and when the food bank opened, he added that to his weekly list of volunteer opportunities.

He hands out food on Tuesday afternoons and helps deliver hampers to shut-ins on Sundays. He says volunteering has been good for him. He sometimes comes by the house for a cup of coffee and a conversation.

She said she couldn't take the spaghetti or the meat or any of the raw foods because she didn't have anywhere to cook them. I'll never forget that- Hilde Purdy, volunteer

Dzedzora says volunteers like Eagle Child are the only reason that Barber House is able to help people. She says the volunteers do more than just hand out the food — they take the time to tailor the food bank to the specific needs of recipients.

Many of the seniors in Point Douglas live in rooming houses and hotels. Hilde Purdy, another volunteer, says that means a lot of the food bank's clients don't have access to a kitchen.

"I had a woman come in who wouldn't take any of the items that we had that day," Purdy says.

"She said she couldn't take the spaghetti or the meat or any of the raw foods because she didn't have anywhere to cook them, I'll never forget that. That woman took a garlic ring and she just sat down and starting eating it, right then and there. That's real hunger."

'This is our neighbourhood'

Purdy says the woman inspired her and she now brings pre-made snacks to give away, alongside other items.

He's not the only volunteer who takes that initiative. They bring homemade cabbage rolls and yogurt drinks so the recipients can have something to eat while they pick up their groceries.

Dzedzora says she's blown away by the generosity of her volunteers, and says many of them don't have much themselves.

She says Purdy is an excellent example of that —​ Purdy has already spent half of her own pension on food and transportation for those in need, Dzedzora says.

Dzedzora, who has lived in Point Douglas for over 40 years, calls herself a pioneer.

She says it's important that she takes care of those who came after her.

"We're all seniors, too," Dzedzora says.

"This is our neighbourhood, our problems, and we're doing what we can."