Thanksgiving food boxes packed up for delivery to Barrie families
Volunteers for Fresh Food Weekly were busy packing Thanksgiving boxes on Wednesday to hand-deliver to 75 families in Barrie.
Each box is filled with nearly everything you would expect to see on a Thanksgiving dinner menu.
"It comes with turkey or ham and also butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin pie, stuffing, cranberry sauce, butter tarts," said founder Leah Dyck.
Leah Dyck founded the monthly meal box delivery program for low-income families in June.
"Everybody knows right now that the cost of all things is insanely high, and most people are having a hard time paying for food," said Dyck.
As a single mom for 13 years, Wendy Hill said she knows what it's like to struggle, and it's one of the reasons she's volunteering.
"I've been married now for 25 years quite successful, so now I have tenants that are on ODSP and having a really hard time," said Hill.
From pick up to packing and delivery, the boxes are helping those who need it most.
All the food to fill the boxes is donated or offered at a discount by local farmers and businesses
According to data compiled by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Thanksgiving dinner staples have increased by 22 per cent compared to last year.
"I have about a 300 family waitlist every single month. I get people reaching out to me saying they are going days without food, especially in neighbouring towns that don't have a food bank," said Dyck.
At a time of year when the message is all about giving thanks, those involved say it's also about giving back, one box at a time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Students at Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School near Montreal are protesting after they say their school's administration started pushing what they call a 'sexist' dress code.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving “corrective action” for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Air travel is expensive. WestJet wants the government to do more to change that
WestJet is asking the federal government to put measures in place to lower ticket costs for travellers, but questions remain on who would foot the bill.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Ottawa police investigating death of a gosling in Kanata
Ottawa police are investigating after someone allegedly stomped on a gosling in Kanata. Police say it appears that Canada geese laid eggs in the area, 'and on May 21, a suspect stomped on one of the hatched babies.'
Treasury Board president urges managers to be flexible on exemptions for new 3-day office mandate
The president of the Treasury Board is standing by the federal government's new hybrid office mandate for federal public servants, but is urging managers to be flexible for staff requiring exemptions.