On December 23rd, the Mann family – Ruby, Roman, Pinky, and Jaz – showed up at our little apartment with smiles and sandwich-making enthusiasm. Together, over the course of three+ hours, the six of us made 210 sandwiches and 210 care packages.
The sandwiches were stacked to the nines with awesomeness! Each had mustard, mayo, salt and pepper, tomato slices, lettuce, mozzarella cheese, and a thick chunk of either roast beef or smoke turkey – all in between the top and bottom of a freshly baked kaiser courtesy of the amazingly generous people at Fratelli Bakery.
If there was a Miss Sandwich pageant, ours would be a contender. Though it would probably spill out the sides of its bikini. I digress...
While Ruby, Pinky, and I manned the sandwich station, Roman, Jaz, and Mike worked on the care packages. We set up a system around the living room – cookies on the couch, oranges on the chairs, toothpaste and floss on the side tables, juiceboxes, granola bars, and other treats on the coffee table, chips stacked in boxes in the corner. It was mad!
Each kit received: 3 cookies (baked fresh from Marie Antoinette Bakery and Fratelli Bakery), a tube of toothpaste, dental floss, two oranges, a granola bar, a bag of chips, a juice box, and – of course – a sandwich!
We wrapped the sandwiches separately and stored them in our fridge for the night.
210 sandwiches need a LOT of fridge space!
We felt like we were doing one of those brain teaser puzzles – and eventually were able to fit all the sandwiches in the fridge ... three layers deep, three layers high, on the door, in the veggie crisper. Everywhere!
We high-fived!! A job well done!
Delivery Day
The following day, we packed two cars to the brim with care packages. In the trunk. On the back seats. In our laps. Everywhere.
We met up with three generous volunteers near the corner of Main and Hastings, a bullseye for poverty and drug abuse on Vancouver's East Side.
Together, the five of us lugged bags and boxes of care packages to the corner.
We asked one gentleman: "Would you like a sandwich?"
And the onslaught began.
One man said "May I shake your hand? Please?" and continued to give all five of us a long, solid handshake. The most genuine handshake I've ever received.
One woman was bowled over: "You've got to be kidding! You've got to be kidding! Man, this is great!"
"A junkie's dream come true," smiled one man wryly as he instantly dove into a bag of salt and vinegar chips.
"Can I have one?" asked a girl who couldn't look me in the eye and looked too be alone on a cold, rainy Christmas Eve.
Some people said thank you. Some stopped to chat a little. Some grabbed the bags and ran. Some took one, put it in their coat, turned around, and asked for another. Some were shy. Some were bold. All were grateful, in their own ways, and showed us truly the spirit of Christmas.
I wondered later if I would have been the same in their shoes. What if I was hungry, high, and cold? Would I have the decency to say Thank You?
In less than five minutes, our 210 care packages were gone. And people were still coming in droves.
"Any more sandwiches?"
"Am I too late?"
"Do you have any more?"
"Thanks anyway"
"I wasn't prepared for that," said one of our volunteers.
"what?"
"That we'd have to turn people away. That we wouldn't have enough."
She wiped a tear.
Every year we make more sandwiches and better, meatier care packages. And every year, the line of people who could benefit from our little giveaway seems to extend further.
We didn't solve hunger on the east side. We didn't solve homelessness. We didn't make a dent in drug abuse.
But we did give 210 people the possibility of feeling a full tummy and feeling, on the eve of Christmas, that they matter. Like REALLY matter.
We don't have the right to judge. We were all born into different circumstances. We've all had different life experiences.
At the end of the day, the greatest lesson learned is that these people are just that – people. They have hearts. They are mothers and brothers and fathers and sisters. And they matter.
Thank you to EVERYONE who donated their time and money to the Great Sandwich Make this year.
You really made a difference!
