The Salvation Army food truck is back on the roads, once again delivering meals every Friday to anyone in Niagara Falls in need of a bite to eat.
After the non-profit lost a previous funding source, the community stepped up, with individuals and businesses offering sponsorships so volunteers could continue feeding the hungry, Pastor Nancy Braye,with the Salvation Army Niagara Orchard Community Church, said.
“We weren’t able to start right away because then the pandemic hit. It was very difficult for us to be training volunteers, very difficult for us to be starting something like that with all of the different regulations that had to take place,” Braye said.
Having just restarted the service in May, the food truck is currently offering cold meals such as sandwiches and salads.
“Beginning in the fall, we will go back to our hot meals, so every week there will be a hot meal. Maybe it’s chili, or shepherd’s pie, pasta, or rice and chicken, casserole — those kinds of things,” Braye said.
In its first week, the food truck served 60 people. It ran out of food the first time around.
“Unfortunately, we had to turn people away. The next week, we upped our numbers. We prepared 85 meals and we gave out 79 meals. The week after that, we served another 79 meals.”
The following week, the food truck prepared 100 meals and again had to turn people away because there wasn’t enough.
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Although she couldn’t say whether the effects of the pandemic will have an impact on the number of people needing the food truck service, Braye does expect more people will come by once the word gets out about the food truck being back.
Users of the food truck come from all walks of life. Many are seniors and single people, but quite a few are young people in their twenties.
“It’s also people who are homeless, people at risk of becoming homeless, people who have obviously struggled financially and people who have had some very serious health issues.”
Meals are distributed every Friday in Niagara Falls, starting at The Happiness Inn at 3:30 p.m.; Shoppers Drug Mart on Victoria Avenue at 4:15 p.m.; The Continental Inn at 5 p.m. and The Carriage House at 6 p.m.
Susan McCabe and her husband, Tom, have been longtime volunteers with the Salvation Army. Both were busy preparing the agency’s food truck for its weekly rounds last Friday (June 24).
“This certainly helps people,” Susan said. “We are out giving out a decent meal. Sometimes it is more than enough for just one meal.”
One of the reasons she and her husband became involved was to set an example for their children.
“We have five kids and we want to show them what is happening out there,” Susan said. “We’d like them to, if they have a chance to help someone, then help.”
Volunteers are needed to assist with food preparation, as well as monetary donations and food or supplies. Much needed items include napkins, disposable cutlery, cans of coffee, cans of tuna, ham and chicken, granola bars, and individually packed cookies and snacks. For more information call the church at 905-358-8394.
Statistics Canada reports that one in eight Canadians is food insecure.
In its latest HungerCount report, Food Banks Canada reported that there were a total of 1,303,997 visits to food banks across the country in 2021.
Seniors represent 8.7 per cent of Canadian food bank users, with the rate of increase far outpacing other age groups.
Single adults with children represent 17.8 per cent of Canadian food bank users, and 46.1 per cent of food bank users are single-adult households,
About 50.5 per cent of Canadian food bank users are on social assistance or disability-related supports as their main source of income. One in eight Canadians who access a food bank are currently employed.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With the Salvation Army food truck returning to Niagara Falls to provide weekly meals, Niagara This Week wanted to find out the impact the service has on the community.
UPDATE - June 30, 2022: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled Nancy Braye’s name.
