Martha’s Table hosts annual Thanksgiving dinner in Kingston – Kingston | 24CA News
For over 20 years, folks have been volunteering their time at Martha’s Table in Kingston to feed folks going through housing and meals insecurity.
Their annual Thanksgiving dinner is among the group’s busiest weekends of the 12 months.
Jannette Amini is simply one of many many volunteers who took day out of their Thanksgiving weekend to assist others.
“It’s just really great seeing all the people that come in here,” Amini stated.
Volunteers had been in all weekend making ready tons of meals forward of Monday’s large meal.
“We’ve peeled about 75 pounds of carrots, 100 pounds of potatoes, and dressing is being made. A small army has helped,” stated Ronda Candy, Martha’s Table’s govt director.
Yet as volunteers labored tirelessly, on the forefront of their minds had been the folks they had been working for.
“It’s important to feed everyone in the community, so you need to give up a little bit, sacrifice your own time, and show up,” Amini stated.
“They’ll say, ‘Thank you, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.’ And that was left written on a dinner napkin one time — and they meant it literally. They wouldn’t have survived,” Candy stated.
More and extra persons are counting on meals banks and meal companies like Martha’s Table resulting from a mixture of issues going through Canadians, similar to inflation making groceries dearer than ever and pandemic-related monetary constraints.
Candy stated whereas it’s unlucky, she’s glad that meals insecurity is lastly getting among the consideration it desperately wants.
“Hopefully, this raises some awareness on that level as well, that we need to do more as a country and a community to help people that just need a step up,” Candy stated.
As for Amini, she stated there’s little doubt why she doesn’t hesitate in terms of serving to out: “Knowing that I’m making a difference in the community and providing a community service.”
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