Mya I.
2/5
This review is of the company - I have been to the Queen location and they have no place to leave a review so I'm putting it here. I was advised to come to this one a few weeks ago when asking about volunteering but will not be returning at all to any location after receiving the worst customer service this week. Majority of the staff hired for this company is amazing and they have a great selection of food on multiple days of the week but there are some people who pick and choose who to show compassion and when, and that's not the best environment for a person with severe diagnosed mental health issues who has been unemployed and unable to afford anything for months.
I remember a volunteer named Kurt sitting down and taking the time to listen to me and help guide me in the direction of leaving my abusive partner a few weeks back so I will forever be grateful to him for that, as well as the many kind words of wisdom and opportunities to not go hungry from the Regen Outreach community. I have been going through the darkest time in my life recently and for a few weeks this place was my safe haven from an abusive relationship for the past month and a half among other extreme hardships (family dying, etc), but unfortunately they are just too confusing (things not labelled properly on their shelves nor their website for the Queen Street Location - again I'm unsure of the Main one but have heard great things and recommend people go there!) and honestly have stressed me out by telling me different rules each time I go there, and then saying it's not possible that someone else could have said what I was informed. I reached out to the person in charge Jenna R yesterday by phone for some help and was told not to return today - something I had not planned to do after being asked to leave by Kim (the woman in charge at the queen street location) who has made each visit less and less pleasurable each time we happen to be there at the same time, including yesterday and when I went for the last time and was asked to leave after sitting and waiting to go in.
I was misinformed that I could come and get groceries once a week & hot food more than once during the week when I first came back this year, but was just informed over the phone by Jenna that that is not the case and that you are only allowed to come once a week, which is why I was asked to leave and then barred from coming back after finally saying something to the higher ups. I do try to be as understanding as possible as I understand the difficulties involved behind the scenes for everybody, however, navigating the marketplace under such disorganized conditions just isn't for me. Hopefully whoever goes there in the future has a much better experience than I did this year. Just don't ask too many questions, keep your head down, say nothing if something bothers you and hope for the best.
Oh and I'm posting this not just for me, but for the others I've spoken to at the Regen who frequent there and have expressed their dislike of certain procedures and certain workers (one in particular, honestly) who run the place. Good luck!
