At the corner of Dundas and Sherbourne streets, one Toronto man is making weekly visits to the area.
Rolling a wagon filled with grilled cheese-making ingredients and a travel stove top, Sean Espinoza has made it his mission to feed those in need.
“I’ll go to different parts of the city and I’ll always just find a bunch of people that are hungry,” said the creator of Picnic in the Six.
He started the initiative nearly a year ago, heading onto the streets of Toronto offering hot meals and supplies — all paid out of pocket and through GoFundMe donations.
“I had experienced homelessness myself for about six or seven years back when I was probably around 15,” he said. “I kind of know what it’s like to go hungry, to go without even having someone to talk to, you know? So, a lot of times when I’m out I’m not just cooking, I’m making friends. It’s nice.”
Going through six loaves of bread in an hour, the need is clear.
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One grilled cheese recipient, Michelle Ball, was excitedly waiting for her sandwich.
“I’m smelling this grilled cheese and it’s making me really hungry,” she said.
Ball has experienced homelessness and finds that outreach like the Picnic in the Six initiative makes an impact.
“A lot of people are homeless and they don’t have food in their belly and it’s nice to know that people care,” Ball said.
“Because addicts have problems with addictions, they shouldn’t just be shunned and put to the side and just ignored,” she continued. “Everybody needs help.”
Documenting the Picnic in the Six interactions on social media, the hope is to spread awareness about what the city’s most vulnerable are facing.
“People sometimes just are so busy with their life that they’ll just walk by and not pay any attention to a lot of people,” Espinoza said. “I’m hoping that it can spark something in everybody.”
His work has already inspired others.
“It is inspiring to see someone who was at rock bottom now give back to people that may be at rock bottom, that may be experiencing the real harsh realities in the world,” said University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) student Monty Galvan.
Part of UTM’s Women and Gender Equity Centre (WGEC), her team plans to join Picnic in the Six for a fundraiser while handing out food and supplies on Sept. 7.
“Community coming together and supporting each other, especially in these hard times when not a lot of people have a lot to give but they have time and energy to give, is so important to show humanity is still alive,” Galvan said.
All in an effort to show up for one another, Espinoza questioned: If he can do it, why can’t others?
“Why wouldn’t the government be able to do something like this?” he said.
“This is just another regular person that’s been out here, that’s experienced homelessness, addiction. So, I mean, I kind of want to ruffle the feathers a little bit. Why is it on us?”
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