WELLINGTON (PEI), January 13, 2023 – On January 10, 2023, at the Collège de l’Île, in Wellington, the PEI French Health Network  awarded the 2022 Étoile Santé honorary prize to the Conseil scolaire-communautaire Évangéline and its volunteers for their exceptional contribution to the well-being of the Évangeline region through the Évangeline Meals on Wheels program.

The Conseil scolaire-communautaire Évangéline (CSCÉ)  administers the community component of the Centre d’éducation Évangéline and ensures the implementation of programs and services in French, in order to promote the development of the Acadian and Francophone community of the region.

According to Nick Arsenault, Executive Director of the CSCÉ, the Meals on Wheels program was launched in August 2021, following discussions with Velma Durant, Recreation Officer at the CSCÉ: “Velma was key to the initiative. It was a good thing because we were in the process of applying for a Impact Aînés project through the federal government’s New Horizons for Seniors program. We felt that there was a need to go and create projects to help break the isolation amongst the elderly.” 

For Velma Durant, projects such as Meals on Wheels are essential to the community: “It’s important because you bring a meal, which is a nice gesture, but it also gives people a little visit. This breaks the isolation. Especially during covid, our participants, it gave them something to look forward to. To have someone who speaks French knock at your door, it always warms the heart. Just knowing that someone is coming makes a person want to get up. Even if it’s a split second. Then, afterwards they don’t have to think about preparing a meal.”

Of course, an initiative such as Meals on Wheels would not be possible without its volunteers. In the Évangeline region, they were easy to recruit. According to Velma Durant: “It just happened. For a while we had almost too many names of people who wanted to show up every week. We never had a challenge to find any. There is always someone who seems to be ready to go.”

For volunteers, like Colette Arsenault, what is important, almost more than meals, is reaching out to people, breaking the  isolation: “Through my various work experiences, I have always been involved in the community in some form of way. It gets me out of the house, it helps the community. It gives me a chance to see people I didn’t necessarily rub shoulders with before. I can say hi to them once a week, and see how they are doing.”

Meals on Wheels Évangeline, it’s also a kitchen that prepares the meals that are distributed. According to Nick Arsenault: “You have to mention Andrew Fisk and his team. They really wanted to provide a service like that for the community. It’s part of their values. You really have to recognize the importance of the person who is preparing the meals.”

For Andy Fisk, owner and chef of the catering service A la Cuisine: “The most important thing for me, as far as the program is concerned, is the fact that everyone, every human being, deserves a meal to eat. No matter the circumstances, everyone deserves it. It is a right. It’s not a privilege. To be able to feed these people…the basic necessities of life, food, because they need it, because they are physically unable to, or whatever the reason. That’s why I’m doing this.”

Same sentiment for William Keeler, sous-chef at A la Cuisine: “We’ve been cooking all our lives. To be able to do something so simple that I am good at to give back, it’s nice.”

 

Since its beginnings, in August 2021, the Meals on Wheels initiative has served two meals a week, Tuesday and Thursday, to around 30 people, so more than 4,000 meals! In addition, each meal is adapted to the dietary needs of each client.

Although these meals are made possible through a combination of government funding and customer participation, inflation has spared no one and food costs have risen. So, is it really possible to provide complete, nutritious meals with limited means? To this question Chef Andy answers us: “Absolutely! You just have to be creative. We very carefully source what we are going to use. I always try to get everything as close to home as possible. Meat and produce will come from local farmers.  I do everything I can to support that,and it’s going to be the freshest.  There are also other entities that have helped tremendously.  Like the local Coop, in Wellington.  The other support is the Summerside Butcher’s Shop. The owner, Kevin, and several of the staff, have been phenomenal. It’s amazing to see how many people are helping throughout to make sure that we can prepare those meals. ”

It is this commitment of the community, of the Conseil scolaire-communautaire Évangéline and its volunteers that the Health Network wants to honour by giving them the honorary Étoile Santé award. For the director of the Health Network, Élise Arsenault: “It is important to recognize the Center scolaire-communautaire Évangéline. The initiative they took over of delivering meals at home means the difference of being able to stay at home for several people. It’s also very important that people feel that their community supports them. And it’s great to see volunteers like this committed to  the well-being of their community.”

The Health Network wishes continued success  to the Meals on Wheels Évangeline initiative which is, as the general director of the Conseil scolaire-communautaire Évangéline, Nick Arsenault, says so well: “A fundamental, human service; which makes it possible to find an excuse to visit people and to make a small gesture that warms the heart, which is good for everyone.”

 

 

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The PEI French Health Network is a non-profit organization that collaborates with various partners in order to improve access to quality French-language health services and programs for Prince Edward Island’s Acadian and Francophone population. The organization brings together representatives from target community groups, educational facilities, health professionals, health service managers and the provincial government. It is also one of 16 networks that make up the Société Santé en français and Healthbound 2018‑2023: Toward Access. The PEI French Health Network is funded by Health Canada within the framework of the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2018‒2023.

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Media contact:   

Annick Mondat Allemann
Project and Communications Manager
Telephone: 902-854-7247
Email: annickallemann@ihis.org