Accessibility at The People's Potato
The People's Potato is committed to accessibility for all service users and volunteers. As we do not have full control of all aspects of our kitchen or the university building in which it is located, there are some limits to our ability to make changes to improve the accessibility of our services and space. However, it is important to us to do what we can within these limitations. If you need information that is not available here or you would like to suggest an addition to this page, please contact us by email or telephone .
Physical Accessibility for service users
Lunch service: Anyone who is unable to wait in line due to a disability, or because they are with small children, is welcome to bypass the line and come directly into the kitchen to be served.
Please just speak to a collective member to let them know.
Food assistance service: Anyone who is unable to wait in line for our food assistance service due to a disability is invited to phone or email at least 48 hours before the service begins to request that a box of food be set aside and to coordinate a time to come to the kitchen to pick it up.
Please just speak to a collective member to let them know.
Food assistance service: Anyone who is unable to wait in line for our food assistance service due to a disability is invited to phone or email at least 48 hours before the service begins to request that a box of food be set aside and to coordinate a time to come to the kitchen to pick it up.
Physical Accessibility for volunteers, interns, and workshop participants
There are many ways to volunteer and no one is expected to take on tasks that they are not comfortable with, or that they are not able to do. We work with volunteers, interns, and workshop participants to find work that suits their interests, skills, and needs.
In the kitchen:
The kitchen is a step-free space. The door into the kitchen is kept open during regular hours.
There is a table available for wheelchair users and anyone who needs or prefers to sit. The chairs in the kitchen are mostly non-folding chairs with backrests and no armrests. We have 2 stainless steel hand-washing sinks that are knee operated.
The floors in the kitchen are slip resistant, but can still be slippery when wet.
We have some adapted kitchen tools available such as "mezzaluna" rocking knives. We are always open to suggestions for other adapted equipment we could purchase that would be beneficial to our volunteers.
The kitchen can be loud, very busy, and difficult to physically maneuver from 11:30am - 1:30pm. The serving area is particularly difficult to navigate during the lunch service. Volunteers are welcome to eat lunch in the main cafeteria area outside the kitchen, but for the time being, due to COVID-19, volunteers and staff are not permitted to eat in the kitchen space.
Lighting: The lighting in the kitchen and on the rest of the 7th floor is fluorescent.
In the kitchen:
The kitchen is a step-free space. The door into the kitchen is kept open during regular hours.
There is a table available for wheelchair users and anyone who needs or prefers to sit. The chairs in the kitchen are mostly non-folding chairs with backrests and no armrests. We have 2 stainless steel hand-washing sinks that are knee operated.
The floors in the kitchen are slip resistant, but can still be slippery when wet.
We have some adapted kitchen tools available such as "mezzaluna" rocking knives. We are always open to suggestions for other adapted equipment we could purchase that would be beneficial to our volunteers.
The kitchen can be loud, very busy, and difficult to physically maneuver from 11:30am - 1:30pm. The serving area is particularly difficult to navigate during the lunch service. Volunteers are welcome to eat lunch in the main cafeteria area outside the kitchen, but for the time being, due to COVID-19, volunteers and staff are not permitted to eat in the kitchen space.
Lighting: The lighting in the kitchen and on the rest of the 7th floor is fluorescent.
Getting to the Potato
The kitchen is located on the 7th floor of the Hall building at the downtown campus of Concordia University (1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest). The nearest metro station is Guy Concordia (Guy exit). In the metro there are 2 sets of escalators between the platform and street level and no elevator. The closest bus lines include the 15, 24, 57, 66, 165 and 166. The shuttle bus from Loyola drops off on Sherbrooke in front of the Hall building.
People who have the disabled parking permit and sticker are permitted to park in spaces with restricted hours and parking zones reserved for residents for a maximum of 60 minutes. Permit-holders can also park at metered spots for free. (Thanks to QPIRG Concordia for compiling information about parking!)
The entrance into the Hall building is step-free with button-operated automated doors from the De Maisonneuve and Bishop entrances. There are escalators and an elevator to the 7th floor. Note that it is likely that one or more of the escalators between the ground floor and 7th floor is non-functional on any given day. At the top of the 7th floor escalator is a glass double-door which is heavy and non-automated.
People who have the disabled parking permit and sticker are permitted to park in spaces with restricted hours and parking zones reserved for residents for a maximum of 60 minutes. Permit-holders can also park at metered spots for free. (Thanks to QPIRG Concordia for compiling information about parking!)
The entrance into the Hall building is step-free with button-operated automated doors from the De Maisonneuve and Bishop entrances. There are escalators and an elevator to the 7th floor. Note that it is likely that one or more of the escalators between the ground floor and 7th floor is non-functional on any given day. At the top of the 7th floor escalator is a glass double-door which is heavy and non-automated.
Allergies and cross-contamination
An updated ingredients list is written on the blackboard next to the serving area each day before the lunch service begins. If you have further questions about the ingredients, please come into the kitchen and ask to speak to the chef who made that dish (the volunteers at the serving window usually do not have any information other than what is written on the blackboard).
Animal products
All meals served at the People's Potato lunch service are vegan. This means that the meals do not contain meat or fish, dairy, eggs, or other animal products such as honey, rennet, or gelatin. There is no meat processed in our kitchen or on any of our equipment. We sometimes distribute donated sealed animal products such as meat and dairy products through our food bank. All food prepared for solidarity servings is vegetarian, though may not be vegan if this was not specified in the request.
Nuts, seeds, and soy
We do not cook with nuts, nor do we allow food containing nuts to be open in the kitchen or prepared on any of our equipment. That said, not all of the ingredients used in the kitchen are certified nut-free (i.e. may have been processed on factory equipment that also processes nuts). There are often sealed products containing nuts distributed through our food bank. We sometimes use seeds and seed-based oils, including sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, and flax, as well as soy products in our meals.
Gluten
Each day that lunch service is offered, one half of the meal (2 out of 4 dishes) is gluten-free. These dishes will be prepared without the use of ingredients containing wheat or gluten, such as wheat bread and pasta, kamut, spelt, barley, couscous, oats, malted vinegars, and sauces made with wheat ingredients. Please note that we cannot guarantee that all of the ingredients used in our wheat-free servings are completely free from cross-contamination.
Animal products
All meals served at the People's Potato lunch service are vegan. This means that the meals do not contain meat or fish, dairy, eggs, or other animal products such as honey, rennet, or gelatin. There is no meat processed in our kitchen or on any of our equipment. We sometimes distribute donated sealed animal products such as meat and dairy products through our food bank. All food prepared for solidarity servings is vegetarian, though may not be vegan if this was not specified in the request.
Nuts, seeds, and soy
We do not cook with nuts, nor do we allow food containing nuts to be open in the kitchen or prepared on any of our equipment. That said, not all of the ingredients used in the kitchen are certified nut-free (i.e. may have been processed on factory equipment that also processes nuts). There are often sealed products containing nuts distributed through our food bank. We sometimes use seeds and seed-based oils, including sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, and flax, as well as soy products in our meals.
Gluten
Each day that lunch service is offered, one half of the meal (2 out of 4 dishes) is gluten-free. These dishes will be prepared without the use of ingredients containing wheat or gluten, such as wheat bread and pasta, kamut, spelt, barley, couscous, oats, malted vinegars, and sauces made with wheat ingredients. Please note that we cannot guarantee that all of the ingredients used in our wheat-free servings are completely free from cross-contamination.
Scents
Out of consideration for people who are sensitive to scents and who may have adverse reactions if exposed to them, please do not wear heavily scented products in the kitchen. If you have scented products with you, please take care not to open them in the kitchen and do not apply them immediately before entering the kitchen. This includes cologne, perfume, essential oils, scented hair gel, lotions and other other products scented with chemicals or concentrated natural scents.
We ask collective members and volunteers not to wear scented products in the kitchen. We do our best to maintain this but with our open-door volunteer policy, new volunteers do sometimes arrive without knowing about this policy.
Soap at the hand-washing sink is conventional hand soap, but volunteers may also use the dish soap from the dishwashing sinks which is fragrance and dye-free. Our all-purpose spray cleaner, laundry detergent, and floor cleaner are also fragrance and dye-free. At the end of the cleaning shift we spray surfaces with a thyme-based disinfectant. Bleach is periodically used on floors, cutting boards, and in the laundry outside of volunteer hours.
We ask collective members and volunteers not to wear scented products in the kitchen. We do our best to maintain this but with our open-door volunteer policy, new volunteers do sometimes arrive without knowing about this policy.
Soap at the hand-washing sink is conventional hand soap, but volunteers may also use the dish soap from the dishwashing sinks which is fragrance and dye-free. Our all-purpose spray cleaner, laundry detergent, and floor cleaner are also fragrance and dye-free. At the end of the cleaning shift we spray surfaces with a thyme-based disinfectant. Bleach is periodically used on floors, cutting boards, and in the laundry outside of volunteer hours.
Financial Accessibility
Our lunch service, food assistance service, and solidarity servings are offered on a pay-what-you-can, by-donation basis. No one is ever turned away for lack of funds. All of our workshops and events are free. People's Potato merchandise is sold on a sliding scale.
Identification and Privacy
Our lunch service, food assistance service, and workshops are open to all. No one is ever required to show identification of any kind or to open an account with us to access these services.
Bathrooms
There is one wheel chair accessible, gender neutral bathroom on the 7th floor, in front of the hallway that leads to the back door entrance of our kitchen space. If you are heading towards the Student Success Centre from the elevators or the escalators, it is just before the glass doors, to the right. The doors into the bathrooms are heavy and non-automated and open inwards. There is a larger wheelchair-accessible stall in each of the main bathrooms. The wheelchair accessible stalls have a support bar, raised seat and door that opens inwards. Soap in soap dispensers is conventional.
Most bathrooms are not gender-neutral on the 7th floor, but there are two large washrooms one floor down, on the 6th floor, with numerous toilet stalls, that are wheelchair accessible and gender neutral. There are also more individual washrooms on the 6th floor, near the elevators.
Most bathrooms are not gender-neutral on the 7th floor, but there are two large washrooms one floor down, on the 6th floor, with numerous toilet stalls, that are wheelchair accessible and gender neutral. There are also more individual washrooms on the 6th floor, near the elevators.
Language
All collective members speak English and French. Workshops are offered in English unless otherwise specified.
The content on this page was shaped by a template provided by the Radical Access Mapping Project (RAMP).
You can learn more about the Mapping Project, including other audited spaces, captioned videos, and other resources here.
The content on this page was shaped by a template provided by the Radical Access Mapping Project (RAMP).
You can learn more about the Mapping Project, including other audited spaces, captioned videos, and other resources here.
