Thoughts and feelings, coming from the Community I advocate for, on Celebrating Easter 2025!

 By Kendall Worth

 

 

 

 

Considering that I am writing this current post on March 30^th, 2025 and this year the Easter Holiday weekend is just 3 weeks away (April 18^th till April 21^st 2025) there are a lot of mixed emotions on how to celebrate Easter this year coming from members of the Community of people living in poverty, here in Halifax. This year, income assistance recipients are saying that after rent and bills are paid, just like Celebrating Easter and Christmas 2024 was, Celebrating Easter is not going to be affordable. Even though, as reported in my post dated January 9^th 2024,  the standard house hold rate for people on income assistance is now $1005.00 a and 60% of Income Assistance Recipients are getting an additional $318.00 a month,  it is still not enough. 

Whether any not-for-profit organizations are hosting free Easter Dinner this year, remains a mystery. It is important to remember, juat as I remind everyone on every holiday... we have to this year, at Easter, think about ever increasing Homeless population here in Halifax. 

 In the meantime here are some prices I gathered during my recent (March 2025) trip to the grocery store, for items to make a Turkey dinner at home. . .

 

• Sweet Potato $1.29 a pound

• Fresh Carrots $3.49 a pound

• Brussels Sprouts $4.99 a pound

• Green Beans $4.99 a pound

• Potatoes $7.50 for a 10 poud bag

• Onions $12.99 a bag

• Turkeys Starting at $33.30 for a 6.085 KG bird

• Then with Factoring in the Cost of making Gravy and the cost of Easter Treats

   

  As reported Here there are  1155 actively homeless people in Halifax. So how much it is going to cost to feed that number of  homeless people this Easter.?

  Adding up all the above figures = $68.55 then let add extra $1000 for Easter Treats and Ingredients to make gravy, plus to cover other extras associated with Easter so $68.55 Plus $1000.00 = $1068.55. Now to Feed that amount of Homeless people Easter dinner here in Halifax Let estimate that we 10 of each of the above items needs to bought $68.55 times 10 = $685.55 plus an extra $10K for extras associated with Easter = $10685.55. 

   Remember something we need to keep in mind these days is Easter is a holiday for kids to have fun. Our Homeless population these days is including Single parents or Families with Kids. This Extra $10K is major part of the through of this money for extras associated with Easter is comming from. The major point I am trying to prove using these figures is it is not only going to be expensive for people to feed thier own families this Easter. 

  This Easter is also going to be more expensive for Organizations like Souls Harbour, Hope Cottage, and other Churches/Organizations to feed the needy who are otherwise going to alone by-themselves this Easter. Several of those people I advocate for through my BLOG do not get invites to spend any Holiday with Friends or family. Also I have had some conversations people within the community of people living in poverty who tell me that are lucky enough to get an invite to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with Friends and or Family, but they find they do not get that same invite at Easter. So you could say that every situation with the community is different in this regard.    

  (Note - Regarding calculating the Above Food items, I just want to say that it is clear that not every person sitting at the table of per-say 4 people per table is going to eat 1 pound of each item per person. At a half of pound recommended per person - one bird can approx 13 people.  Also Mashed Potatoes from a 10 pound bag  of potatoes can also feed all of these folks, maybe more. How much vegetables can be eaten by one person remains a mystery. All of the avobe is only met as estiments) 
  

   

  However there is more to Easter then just thinking about the Homeless. That first $68.55 figure I mentioned is also the rough Estimate of what it going to cost a family of to make Easter Dinner at home this year. Maybe cost more, depending on weather they get a bigger size turkey for their meal or not. Generally, this means 2025 Easter is going to be expensive both financially and mentally. 

  This article  from the now folded NS Advocate and  this blog post, indicate that for people living in poverty,  the Easter weekend is a weekend of 4 days of loneliness and social isolation. Just like Thanksgiving, and Christmas Easter is another mental health deterioration weekend for those who live the situation I speak about in my BLOG. Those who I advocate for are often not friends with the people they see when they are at places like soup kitchens and Food Banks. When Organizations hosts Holiday dinners they feel forced to socialize with the people they are seated with at the Soup-Kitchen or Church Dinner. Even for the few Income Assistance recipients who may be interested in attending a church service on Easter weekend, nice clothing for Church is something that is not affordable, given their income.
  

  Another issue that are connected to any holiday is the cost of eating a holiday dinner with others reminds of reasons why we have food insecurity in this city. Let-alone Holidays Dinners getting expensive, the general cost of groceries is getting more expensive these days.

  Easter is 3 weeks away so now is the time to start finding solutions for people living in poverty,  not to be alone and/or hungry at Easter.