The Ottawa Mission says it’s had to renew a call for turkey donations this year after not meeting its Thanksgiving target, as the cost-of-living crisis impacts donors as much as the needy.
The shelter is one of two charities serving Thanksgiving meals in Ottawa that told CBC they are preparing to meet surging demand for their services this year, even as rising costs strains their budgets.
While the Mission expects to provide between 16,000 and 17,000 full turkey meals, it recently put out a call for 600 donated birds — more than twice what they asked for before the pandemic, said CEO Peter Tilley.
“When we checked on Thursday, we were about 100 turkeys short,” he told CBC on Saturday. “And we always used to get more turkeys than we put out a call for.”
He blamed rising food costs for the shortfall.
“Everybody’s feeling the pinch, even those who want to purchase a few turkeys and give them to the homeless shelter. Maybe they’re buying one or two now instead of two or three.”
It’s just one sign of how the cost-of-living crisis is also making things tough for charities responding to surging demand for social services, Tilley said.
The cost of providing a turkey meal has increased about 24 percent in the past three years, Tilley said, while more people than ever are relying on food provided by the mission.
“It’s a two-edged sword for us in that the number of meals we’re providing has increased, but also the cost per unit [for a] meal,” he said. “It’s unbelievable, the pull on our resources right now.”
At the Shepherds of Good Hope on Murray Street, food services manager Peter Gareau said they’re preparing to serve up to 700 people on Thanksgiving.
Gareau said he’s seen a demographic shift in the people who show up for a holiday meal.
“In the past, the vast majority of people that would come downtown [to the centre] would all be homeless people, but now we’re seeing people that actually do have apartments,” he said.
“These are the same people that are being forced to choose between buying groceries and paying their rent.”
He expects this year will be their busiest Thanksgiving ever and says rising food costs are a constant concern in their kitchen.
“It’s certainly getting tougher and tougher to stretch that same dollar every year,” he said. “We have to get a little bit more creative.”