Without take-away Thanksgiving meal, some hungry Hamilton residents ‘would not be eating’

For as long as Janet Almas can remember, Thanksgiving dinners have been spent alongside her husband, Richard, at a Hamilton homeless shelter.

But not this year.

It's the first one without him since he died," said Almas, 70, standing outside Good Shepherd on Mary Street. We used to practically live here."

Almas gets a warm meal from a shelter nearly every day of the week. When her husband of 36 years was around, it was way to keep her belly from grumbling. These days, she said, it's a way to keep her soul full and spirit high.

To be around other people, it's very essential," she said. I get myself out of the house just to be around people. Otherwise, I would not be eating."

Almas was one of roughly 400 people to visit Good Shepherd on Monday for a hearty, take-away holiday meal.

While the downtown shelter feeds Hamilton's hungry six days a week, holidays merit a little extra, said shelter operations supervisor Daryl Chezzi.

This time is special for them," he said. It's something they look forward to throughout the year. They come out, socialize. Food brings them together."

As a handful of the city's most vulnerable waited outside Good Shepherd for a meal, dozens more were seated at the park next door enjoying patented Thanksgiving classics: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, desert.

It's fantastic that they're doing this," said Diana Wood, 66, packaged meal in hand. More so now with COVID and everything, when a lot of people out there are feeling they are forgotten."

The pandemic has driven food insecurity in Hamilton to much higher rates - and that remains the case even as the economy reopens.

Our numbers have gone up in terms of repeat visits and what services people need," said Wendy Kennelly, associate executive director of Mission Services, noting more than 6,500 residents have come to its food bank for a repeat visit since January. The pandemic has had an impact on people in many different ways."

There's lots of need on top of need," said Robyn Knickle, director of development at Neighbour to Neighbour. It's not just COVID anymore. It's not just being hungry. It's mental health, finances, isolation ... not just empty bellies."

People who use food banks in Hamilton struggle significantly more than most low-income residents, according to a new study from McMaster University and Hamilton Food Share.

The study - which examined food bank visits over a four-year period - found gross income in households that rely on food banks is 40 to 60 per cent lower than the average low-income family.

There's a disparity between living in poverty," said Joanne Santucci, executive director of Hamilton Food Share. Some are a little over the poverty line (but) have better access to family and friends, while some are really the poorest of the poor. And most of those are on government assistance programs (which) aren't enough."

A single person on Ontario Works receives $733 a month. That puts serious strain on a household with children, said Santucci, and particularly during a holiday.

If these people don't come to a food bank, they will not eat or skip days of food," she said. If we don't help, they may not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas."

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com