By Kendall Worth!
I want to start this BLOG post off by providing a bit of background for this BLOG. My readers may remember that around this time last year, I posted this BLOG to give you a heads up that inflation will be affecting people living in poverty at Thanksgiving time. This year, depending on where you grocery shop and what you are purchasing, the prices are the same or even higher than last year. I’ve also spoken to people who aren’t rich, but aren’t exactly living in poverty, who say that these grocery prices will impact their Thanksgiving plans too.
If you want to read all of my previous BLOG posts about Thanksgiving, click here.
In this BLOG post here here from last year, I wrote about the aftermath of Thanksgiving. As Quoted in this BLOG post, “According To the community of people i advocate for, the term aftermath also has an entirely different meaning. Even now when we look at the term math in general we look at numbers. The term aftermath also has a mental health related meaning experienced by the community of people living in poverty which the financially better off community does not see. The meaning of aftermath that comes from the Community of People living in poverty is all about when you bring your lived experienced of social isolation into the mix of living with poverty and mental health issues. This is exactly what many experienced during Thanksgiving 2023”.
By the way, here is another BLOG that is non Related to any holiday, but illustrates food prices these days in general.
Many people living in poverty feel that this year will be no different to last year. In fact, those I’ve spoken to recently are saying that this year may be even worse - both mentally and financially. This is largely because of grocery prices, but also because of isolation and lonesomeness. Many of them do not get invites to the homes of friends and family for holiday dinners. Even some of those who are lucky to have family living nearby are still not receiving Thanksgiving dinner invitations. Like my recent BLOG posted on October 2 points out, this is hurtful to their mental health.
Just like in 2023, we have to continue to think about how to include the homeless population in Thanksgiving celebrations, which continues to increase.
The question I raise here is: how much would it cost for an organization or an individual to provide a thanksgiving dinner to 1,316 people experiencing homelessness? (note – 1,316 is the latest number I heard for the amount of our homeless population in Halifax during the Summer months. The number could be different now).
To think of a rough estimate, I took a walk to the grocery store last night and got some prices for a turkey dinner. Turkeys themselves are ranging from $35.00 to $65.00 a bird, depending on Size. Considering it might take 150 Turkeys to feed 1,316 homeless people, it could cost anywhere from $46,060 to $85,540. This is just for Turkeys alone. Here are some prices of other typical Thanksgiving food items people might want:
- 3.99 for a pound of carrots
- $7.99 for a 10lb bag of potatoes
- $2.99 for a pound of onions
- $7.99 for a bag of frozen mixed vegetables
- $2.50 for a can of cranberries
- $2.99 a box for stove-top stuffing
- $4.00 for two packs of powdered gravy
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| I choose this photo for my Current BLOG post because it is a Souvenir from my Recent Attendance at the Social Prescribing Conference I attended. This photo Provides Great Advice for many who are part of the Community I advocate for through my BLOG who are otherwise going to be spending Thanksgiving alone By-themselves to fallow this weekend through no fault of our own. |
There have been times in the past, especially before COVID, when non-for-profit organizations have gone out of their way to provide holiday dinners to people who are in need. However, since COVID, I haven’t seen much promised. This is true for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday as well.
I provided the above figures to also illustrate how much it would cost a non-for-profit to arrange a Thanksgiving meal to those in need this year.
While I was at the grocery store last evening, I noticed that frozen ‘Hungry Man’ Turkey Dinners were priced at $4.99 a box. Many housed people who are living in poverty told me that this is what they will have to resort to this year.
In the past and before COVID, organizations like food banks and soup kitchens provided free turkey dinners to those in need - especially on Christmas, but also at Easter and Thanksgiving. Many of us sit alone to eat these meals.
In some of my other BLOG posts over this past year, I talked about the project we had in Halifax called All Together Link All Together Link This project was trying to get a community of people together who are all living in poverty so that they can make friendships with each other.
Anyway, I imagine that if these friendships had been formed through All Together Link, then maybe less people would be spending Thanksgiving alone. They would have more friends and even company for a meal.
I say let’s find a solution!
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