My name is Rebecca McFadyen, and I am a U3 Honours Political Science student with a minor in Economics and Quebec Studies. I am passionate about food insecurity, and local level governance. I believe improving our food systems is a key step towards a sustainable and equitable future. My internship this summer at the Peter McGill Community Council allowed me to explore how food insecurity is being addressed in Montreal.
The Peter-McGill Community Council is a nonprofit organization that brings together residents, nonprofits and businesses within the community to work together to improve life in the neighborhood. The council aims to be the voice of the citizens, the glue that holds the social network together. They tackle issues within the neighborhood ranging from food insecurity and homelessness to immigration and family life. I worked under the food insecurity committee.
My goals for this internship were to learn more about the administrative and lobbying side of food insecurity. While I have plenty of experience volunteering and working at food banks, I am unfamiliar with the logistics that go behind creating a food insecurity plan, or how organizations can advocate for themselves. I also aimed to comprehend the bureaucracy that makes up Montreal’s government. I learned that there are many local, provincial and federal actors that participate in fighting food insecurity.
As an intern, my responsibilities varied weekly, depending on the needs of the committee. I was often delegated to go help different organizations who were members of the committee, such as Innovation Assistance. I would help at the biweekly solidarity markets or helped in the community kitchens. On a couple of occasions, I planned and taught a small cooking class. On the administrative side, I prepared communications material and social media content for the council. The committee is currently hoping to expand its relationship with businesses in the community. I contributed to this mission by creating an organized database of potential community partners, and then contacting any potential businesses. Overall, I had a myriad of tasks and projects that I helped the council with over the duration of the summer, each contributing to a different portion of the plan to combat food insecurity in the neighborhood.
One highlight of the internship was our community picnic. It was wonderful seeing so many residents and their families show up to the picnic to eat food, play games and have a good time. It is often difficult to find a sense of community in a downtown area. To see the residents come together as neighbors for a fun afternoon in the park was lovely. Further, it also created a friendly environment in which residents could discuss their issues and concerns about the community. Overall, the afternoon was memorable as I got to connect with both my coworkers and the residents of Peter-McGill.
This internship was very self-directed, meaning that much of the work was done remotely or simply not in the office. At first, I had trouble with my time management, as I struggled to work from home. However, once more work started to come in, I began to find ways to concentrate and manage my time better. Instead of trying to work from home, where there were too many distractions and excuses to not work, I would head to the library, or a café. Being near other productive people made me want to be productive. Furthermore, this internship required some written French, something I have not practiced in some time. As the summer went on, I became more at ease with writing in French through simple practice and reading French novels.
This internship has changed my university experience in a multitude of ways. As the council has many partnerships with Concordia University, it has given me hope that similar partnerships can be implemented at McGill. I am keen to be involved in fighting food insecurity in the McGill student population, while also building connections between the university and the neighborhood it resides in.
This opportunity would not have been possible without the help of the Arts Internship Award; had I not received a bursary from McGill, I would not have had the financial means to work with the Peter-McGill Community Council during the summer. I would like to thank Keith Bergner and Angela Stadel for their generosity in funding this internship, as well as the Quebec Studies Program for providing this opportunity. It has truly been a life-altering experience. Thank you.
