Mandate:
The mandate of the Partage/Share Committee is to help provide essential food and household consumables where need exists in the community. In doing so P/S shall:
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- manage an emergency food bank
- be responsible for a P/S budget
- conduct its own fundraising activities
- provide regular reports of accounts and statistics to the Board of Directors.
Membership:
The Partage/Share committee shall consist of no less than five and no more than seven voting members to include an individual who is sensitive to the cause, a Director and the coordinator of services.
Signing Officers:
Signing Officers shall be either an Executive Team member or a Director plus one other committee member authorized by the Board of directors.
Meetings:
Meetings shall be confidential with business being conducted with compassion and respect.
Activities, events, etc.:
Collecting (food and money), Christmas Baskets, Reference ex: Collective Kitchens, help with their budget.
Partage/Share Emergency Food Bank Policies:
Food Bank Policies (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How can I make a Food Bank request?
To make a request, simply call or visit the CAB office yourself.
You cannot make a request on behalf of another person. We adopted this rule because a few years ago, a well-intentioned citizen made a food bank request for a neighbour, who was offended by the gesture.
So as not to offend anyone, we only ask that the request is made by the person who will receive the food.
Do you ask for financial information?
No. All we require is your name, address, phone number, how many people live in your household (adults and children), ages of children (if applicable), and allergies.
In the past, we did ask for financial information to ensure no one could take advantage of the service. However, we found that some people were hesitant to make a request as they were not comfortable disclosing that kind of personal information. Since we truly want to help those in need, we abolished this rule in the hope of reaching more people.
We assume that if you have to ask for help, you must need it. No questions asked.
What about confidentiality?
Every request is confidential. When a request is made, the person at the reception desk directs the call to the person responsible of the food bank.
Isn’t it always the same people who ask for help?
Actually, no. In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, 22 of the 92 requests came from people who had never used our food bank before. That’s almost 30% new clients!
How do you prevent people from abusing the service?
We limit how many times a person can make a request to 8 times per year, and never more than three consecutive months.
So, if a request is made in January , February and March, the client would not be eligible to make a request in April. However, they could come back in May and June, but skip July, etc.
How many people make the maximum number of requests per year?
Not one person has requested the maximum in a given year. However requests that exceed our capacity will be referred to the Banque alimentaire Memphrémagog or other resources.
Where does your funding come from?
We do not get any grants or government assistance for the Food Bank. As such, 100% of our funding comes from donations from individuals and businesses. We couldn’t do this without the support of our community, and we are appreciative of every donation, large or small.