It was nearly a full house at the non-profit organization Loaves & Fishes in Sydney on Sunday, where people stopped by to enjoy Easter dinner.
The meal was paid for and served up by members of Friends of Charity -- a charitable group that teamed up with the Sydney community kitchen.
Roast beef was on the menu instead of the traditional turkey, but it was still a hot meal with all the trimmings, one that put a dent into the pocketbook of the organization.
"In my opinion, and this is just my opinion, they've been gouging now for a year,” said Friends of Charity member Joe Guillena. “They're never going to go back -- they've got [food prices] up, and they won't go back. It's like gasoline. It keeps going up."
It was the first sit-down Easter dinner at Loaves & Fishes since pre-pandemic days.
General manager Marco Amati estimates demand is up at least 10 per cent since then.
"We're serving about 200 people today,” he said.
The majority who came on Sunday were international students.
Amati said it’s testament to the impact of food inflation on them, not to mention the housing shortage in the community.
"We see a hike in [international students]. We've been seeing that since the pandemic,” Amati said. “Our motto is that we feed anybody. We just provide a hot, nutritious meal a day to anyone who needs it."
With food inflation hitting record highs this winter and into spring, prices at grocery stores to pay for Easter meals across the Maritimes are the highest they've ever been.
On a typical weekday, it means more people are relying on food banks and community kitchens and it's costing those organizations more to feed everyone.
"Meat is a big thing, and produce,” Amati said. “Produce is never coming down, so I don't know if it is or not. Hopefully it is, but the produce and the meat is really a shocker."
Back behind the counter at Loaves & Fishes, that shared struggle against rising costs was a big part of the reason why sponsoring the Easter meal and giving their time gave volunteers extra satisfaction.
"Those that don't have any money, they're suffering. They don't have enough to eat,” Guillena said. "That's why we're here to help them out."
