by Hilary Punchard and Kelsey De Melo
The Western fast food chain McDonald’s serves up a sense of family with their fries.
Everyday fast food chains are easy to come by and even easier to overlook in Toronto. However, for some people, fast food chains like McDonald’s are the comfort they need when they’re so far from their own homes.
At McDonald’s, every worker has a voice and every worker has a story.
Mehal, 19, Front Cashier
Mehal came to Canada by himself from India to get an education and to have more opportunities for himself. He currently works at McDonald’s which he says he’s really grateful for as it has helped put him through school and pay for his living expenses.
Denzel, 20, Front Cashier
Denzel works at the McDonald’s on Yonge Street while he finishes his high school diploma at an Adult Learning Centre. He says McDonald’s has been really helpful with making sure his shifts don’t interfere with his education. Denzel says afterward he’s planning on going to Centennial College, and he’s really thankful for his co-workers as they’ve been the ones to push him to get his diploma.
Charry, 22, Guest Experience Leader
Charry came to Canada from the Philippines in 2010, she lives here on her own while her two sisters live in Saskatoon. She says that despite missing her sisters and missing home in the Philippines, she loves her job here at McDonald’s, and the people she works with make her feel right at home again.
Daisy and Daniela, 20, Front Cashier
Both girls work at the McDonald’s on Yonge Street. Daniela attends Geroge Brown College for tourism and came to Canada from Columbia in 2008 with her siblings. She says she loves working at McDonald’s even though the pay is bad and sometimes the atmosphere is stressful.
Raff, 20, Front Cashier
Raff, who works at the McDonald’s on Church Street, moved to Canada from the Philippines with his family. Despite it being in a sketchy location, Raff says he always has a great time with his co-workers.
Matthew, 23, Assistant Manager
Matthew is an assistant manager at the McDonald’s at the Eaton Center downtown Toronto. He has a degree in behavioral sciences and humanities from the University of Windsor and plans on taking a masters at the University of Toronto. Matthew is really thankful for the opportunities he’s had working at McDonald’s as a student.
Vianne, 20, Guest Experience Leader
Vianne just recentley finished school at George Brown for Dental Assisting and works part-time at both McDonald’s and a dentist office. Vianne has had the opportunity to work full-time at the dentist office but says she can’t seem to leave behind the people she’s met here.
Amalia, “almost 40,” Guest Experience Leader
Amalia moved to Montreal from the Philippines back in 2003. In 2013, Amalia and her two kids moved to Toronto and after two days, she suffered a terrible injury that kept her from work for over a year. After she healed, she struggled to find secure employment. That’s when her “gay best-friend” set up an interview for her at the McDonald’s he worked at. Amalia was nervous and underwhelmed going into her interview where she thought she’d be applying to work as a front cashier. After the interview process, management asked Amalia if she’d be willing to work as the Guest Experience Leader instead, which was a much better opportunity. Since then, Amalia has experienced friendship, family and a home away from home in an everyday fast food chain.
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