Ottawa Mission serves over 17,000 Thanksgiving meals to those in need

The Ottawa Mission continued in its tradition of serving thousands of Thanksgiving meals to residents in need this year.

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The Mission reported it served a total of 17,257 meals the week leading up to the holiday. About 2,800 of those meals were served on Monday alone at its yearly Thanksgiving dinner.

The shelter had said it was expecting about 16,000 meals to be served.

For James Phelan, the annual Ottawa Mission Thanksgiving meal is about more than just the food.

"I love it because it's showing people that we should all be as one," he said, getting his meal.

Chef Ric Watson started serving Thanksgiving meals last week, with the shelter's two food trucks going to 38 low-income areas across the city. The food truck served about 14,000 meals, the Mission reported on Monday.

Watson said its annual Thanksgiving feast on Monday required 800 turkeys, 3,500 pounds of peeled potatoes and 2,000 pounds of carrots.

"It takes a lot a lot of planning, and it takes weeks and weeks to get it put together," said Watson.

"We believe everyone deserves a Thanksgiving meal and I like to make it like you get at your grandmother's house. So we have tablecloths on the table, flowers in the middle of the table and they're getting served at the table by our volunteers."

More than 100 volunteers jumped into action on Monday to serve the meals

"It’s team spirit. There’s no 'I' in the team," said volunteer Svjetlana Gavric, who has been volunteering with the Mission for 15 years.

She says it's the community that keeps bringing her back

"Being here is just seeing the love, seeing the care that Chef Ric gives to everybody. It's amazing. It's the love that keeps coming."

The menu includes some Thanksgiving classics such as roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce.

Community members have been eager to help the Mission with monetary and food donations. Students from Elmwood School are among the many who donated turkeys and raised money for the Mission this week.

On Thursday, students dropped off more than 40 turkeys and raised $4,000.

The Ottawa Mission is grappling with a record-breaking surge in homelessness and food insecurity. In its latest impact report, the shelter revealed the strain on its services, accommodating an influx of asylum seekers and a growing number of vulnerable individuals in the community.

“This is greater demand than we've ever seen before as we've come out of this pandemic," said Ottawa Mission CEO Peter Tiley.

"So many out in the community, whether they're in a rooming house or whether they're living in encampments... they're going to have a place to come for a great Thanksgiving meal.”

The Ottawa Mission serves an average of 3,103 meals every day.

With files from CTV's Kimberley Johnson