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.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
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
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE UPDATES Taylor Swift hits the stage at Rogers Centre for first night of Eras Tour in Toronto
'Toronto, Welcome to the Eras Tour!' Taylor Swift told a roaring sold-out crowd at the Rogers Centre on Thursday night as she began the Canadian leg of her record-breaking tour.
Purolator workers won't handle Canada Post packages if strike occurs, union says
Teamsters Canada says if Canada Post workers go on strike or are locked out, its members at Purolator won't handle any packages postmarked or identified as originating from the carrier.
Trump chooses anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.
Canada urged to cut government-funded research collaborations with China: report
A newly released report is urging Canada to immediately end all government-funded research collaborations with China in a variety of different areas.
Police foil attempted $13,000 cheese theft in North Vancouver
Police in North Vancouver say they prevented the theft of nearly $13,000 worth of cheese from a grocery store earlier this year. Now, they're asking the public for help finding the alleged thief.
Centre Block renovation facing timeline and budget 'pressures'
The multi-billion-dollar renovation of parliament’s Centre Block building continues to be on time and on budget, but construction crews are facing 'pressures' when it comes to the deadline and total costs, according to the department in charge of the project.
Winnipeg driver rescues passengers from burning van
A Winnipeg driver was in the right place at the right time when a paratransit van caught fire Thursday morning.
B.C.'s chief vet tells clinics to set up bird flu protocols amid human exposure risk
British Columbia's chief veterinarian has told clinics that treat wild birds that they must establish protocols to prevent the spread of avian flu, warning of the risk of human exposure to the illness.
Measles cases in New Brunswick continue to climb
The number of measles cases in New Brunswick continue to climb. Officials with New Brunswick’s Department of Health said as of Thursday, the number of confirmed cases since October has reached 43.