In the last five years, the Salvation Army Bayside Mission has doubled the number of meals it provides to people in need.
The downtown Barrie shelter provides its clients with home-cooked lunch and dinner meals every day of the week.
While 75 per cent of the meal program is typically funded by the organization’s Kettle Campaign (with 25 per cent funded by the County of Simcoe), this year’s popular Christmas fundraiser was unable to reach its goal, which has left the organization short.
In an attempt to bridge that financial gap, Salvation Army Maj. Stephanie Watkinson says they have launched Full Bellies = Happy Hearts, a campaign aimed at not only educating people about the number of meals that are given out at the local shelter, but also to garner some financial support.
“We didn’t achieve our goals, so we are trying to find some unique ways to raise the additional funds that we need to keep this program going,” she said, adding the need for the meal program continues to increase each month.
The goal is to have 15,000 meals sponsored by businesses, organizations and individuals during the month of February, Watkinson said, explaining the average cost to provide a meal is around $5.
“We are doing about 150 (lunches) a day. At suppertime, we provide approximately 400 meals… so we are showing people the sheer cost daily of what we are providing to our community,” she said.
The meal service is “critical” and becoming even more so every day, Watkinson noted.
“In the last five years, we have basically doubled our meals to our community. The food insecurity issues in our community are increasing day-by-day and people are needing to come here for the basic need of food.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, the organization had 6,154 meals sponsored.
With several local organizations and businesses hosting team challenges, Watkinson says she's feeling optimistic about reaching the goal they have set.
“I have to be optimistic. We all want to eat and we all love food… and we need to think of our most vulnerable who are struggling with that basic need," she said.
