Feeding Others of Dartmouth: Margaret’s House

The food’s great. Compared to other places serving walk-​in meals like this, the food is downright excellent; always served hot, doesn’t devolve to including fast-​food coleslaw, good variety among different days, and there’s sometimes grab-​bags to take with.
However, the newcomer experience is terrible. If you don’t already know what it is and when it’s open, good luck. There’s no online presence, and e.g. Google Maps has no idea what the place is; you basically need to be referred to know about it. The most obvious sign with such details is on the door from the courtyard. When it’s closed, the courtyard’s locked, so you can’t get up to the sign to read it. When it’s open, that’s where the lineup is, so you’re not exactly encouraged to dally and read it. The staff has a tendency to assume you know the routine — which is good if you’ve been there often enough that you do, but if you’re just poking in for the first few times, it’s easy to get confused, and as someone who has difficulty putting myself forward and troubling people, speaking up to ask what should be obvious questions is very stressful. There are sometimes second servings announced, but, again, the staff doesn’t bother saying how they’d prefer you to go about getting another portion, leading to further confusion — none of which is helped by the tight confines; it’s a house, and wasn’t exactly built for heavy traffic like this, so lingering to ask questions or what-​have-​you is even further discouraged.

I eat here daily and it is impossible to express how much I appreciate the place and people. The meals are really excellent! (it is way better than some places across the Harbour, although they DO have good soup). Not only that but the people, staff and clients, are wonderful too. I think we are a family-​yep a FAMILY is what we are. Thank God for people who care AND act on it!
G

Margaret’s House is a picturesque house sitting at the corner of Wentworth and Ochterloney across from Two if By Sea. At first look, you wouldn’t know what it is. But I’ve lived nearby long enough to appreciate their amazing work in the community.
Quite simply, they give people a decent meal. That is a fantastic fact when you realize they’ve been around for over 20 years. I’ve had friends who have volunteered here and everyone’s been quite impressed with their experience.
It’s easy to assume that the only people who need help getting a decent meal are the very poor. But that belies the fact that there are many ‘working poor’ who can just barely afford to survive.
I’m glad to see the House has been getting some renovations and improvements lately; a new courtyard and improved accessibility. Thanks for all your hard work to the volunteers.