Greater Victoria outreach groups prepare Thanksgiving meals amid rising demand
Local community kitchens are preparing for their annual Thanksgiving meals as more and more people, including seniors, seek help making ends meet.
The lunch rush at Esquimalt’s Rainbow Kitchen, a dedicated charity meal program, was another busy one on Monday.
"We are serving upwards of 250 meals per day," said Ray Oelke, front of house manager at the Rainbow Kitchen.
That is more than double pre-pandemic numbers, "where we would serve about 100 to 120 people," Oelke says.
The need is now so great that Rainbow Kitchen has added a breakfast service, on top of the two school meal programs it launched in 2020.
It has also turned to giving people the option of a to-go meal because there is only so much room in the dining hall.
"As well, we try to do as much food-sharing as possible, so pseudo-food bank free [food] tables in order to get folks groceries," said Oelke.
THANKSGIVING MEALS
Staff at Our Place in Victoria are preparing for their Thanksgiving lunch this coming Wednesday.
"We’ve been seeing increased demand so we’re expecting quite a few people this year," said Grant McKenzie, director of communications for Our Place.
Roughly 180 kilograms of turkey, 50 litres of gravy, 136 kilograms of potatoes and 50 pumpkin pies are being prepped.
That will serve 400 to 500 meals at the centre and 500 more at the various housing sites around the community that Our Place now runs.
Turkey dinners are seen being prepared at Our Place in Victoria. (CTV News)
"We’re seeing a lot more seniors coming in," said McKenzie.
"We’re definitely seeing some people that have been 'reno-victed' who are out on the streets, and this meal is also for people who don’t necessarily have family," he said.
The Rainbow Kitchen will hold their Thanksgiving turkey lunch on Oct. 10. Last year, 400 meals were served.
"I’m expecting even more this year," said Oelke. "We are planning for about 500 to 600 meals to be made, just in case that many people show up at our door."
"I think that’s very possible," he added.
Global pressures, mixed with inflation in Canada, are pushing outreach organizations to the edge of what they can do.
'PERFECT STORM'
Climate change, the war in Ukraine and supply chain issues are all contributing to a global rise in food prices.
"We are facing the perfect storm of perfect storms," said David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme.
He says around the world food insecurity has become much more common. It’s estimated that as many as 828 million people now go to bed hungry every night. Up to 50-million of those individuals are on the edge of famine.
"If we do not reach these people you will have famine and starvation," said Beasley. "You will have destabilization of nations around the planet and you will have mass migration unlike anything you’ve ever seen."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.