Dave takes a bite at the People's Potato

The doors were about to open. I predicted a scene of utter chaos: someone screaming “Power to the Potato” and a horde of students storming the kitchen of the People’s Potato, Concordia’s vegan soup kitchen.

Thankfully, such a scene never transpired.

Instead, the students and community members in the massive line that twisted almost completely around the seventh floor of the Henry F. Hall Building waited patiently for a free vegan lunch.

Wearing an apron and a bright red cap, creative writing major Daniel Mansfield served me a bowl of soup while explaining why he helps serve hungry diners during lunch hour at the Potato. “I keep volunteering here because it’s a special hub to hear about anything and everything happening at Concordia. The Potato is where I get plugged in and connected.”

It was my first time eating at the Potato and also my first-ever vegan meal. My empty plate had become a multicoloured smorgasbord, featuring a green salad with mustard dressing, a bowl of cream-coloured potato soup, and a serving of brown rice.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the healthy appearance of the food, I apprehensively took my first bite, and was amazed by its delicious taste.

As a dedicated carnivore, I never knew that a simple meal of soup, vegetables, grains and salads dipped in curry spices could actually be satisfying. Apparently, lots of people have made similar discoveries thanks to the People’s Potato.

The People’s Potato is a student-initiated project founded in 1999 to address student poverty. Since then, the kitchen has grown from a small volunteer-run collective to a workers’ collective employing over 10 people. An estimated 400 meals are served each day.

Electrical engineering major Farzad Salehi has been enjoying the daily vegan lunch routine ever since he stumbled upon the soup kitchen. “This place is a healthy alternative from my usual menu. But still, some days I wish there was just a morsel of meat,” Salehi said.

I gulped down my meal (which was a little spicy), and headed to the kitchen to meet the chef.

Math major Ivo Pendev wore a satisfied smile as he cleaned a giant cauldron. An immigrant from Russia, Pendev has been the cafeteria’s chef for several years. He explained that the job has served as a gateway into Montreal’s culture. “There is a type of kindness that I have found here that is rare,” he said.

We chatted for a while, and I thanked Pendev for my meal. He insisted I had to meet Gaby Pedicelli before I left, so I could find out about the kitchen’s new canning project.

“The canning process is simple,” explained Pedicelli, a full-time collective member of the Potato, as she showed me glass jars of preserved peppers. The first step involves filling a jar with the produce and oil. "When you can something, the food can be kept for months, even years and it won't spoil ... It's a process of boiling and ceiling the jar." The boiling kills any organisms that might spoil the food, and the heating and subsequent cooling seals the jars, making them airtight.

Much of the canned food will come from the Loyola City-Farm. The rest will come from summer purchases at the Jean-Talon Market. Pedicelli said the canning project will allow the kitchen to continue feeding hundreds of Concordia students local produce year-round.

“The preserved goods will be used for our daily meals during those barren months when fresh produce is scarce locally." She said, adding that it’s important for the People’s Potato to support local producers because it’s healthier, cheaper, and strengthens our agricultural economy.

“We plan to give canning and dehydrating workshops so students can save money by buying and preserving locally farmed foods,” she said.

I left the seventh floor of the Hall Building with a renewed appreciation for broccoli, peas, and all the other healthy foods I had mostly avoided up until that point. I was also fairly sure that my first visit to the People’s Potato wouldn’t be my last.

Have you eaten at the People’s Potato? If so, why not tell us about it?

Related links:
•   The People’s Potato 
•   "Who says there’s no free lunch?” — NOW, October 16, 2010