Bernie Gould knows hunger doesn’t take holidays.
It’s a 365-day-per-year reality for all the guests that come to the St. Vincent de Paul Drop-in Centre on Second Avenue.
With inflation still out of control and the price of food and rent continually on the rise, more and more people are finding they can’t make ends meet and are depending on the drop-in centre to fill their bellies.
Thankfully for Gould, her staff and the volunteers who prepare three meals a day on weekdays and twice a day on weekends, the donations of food and money to pay those grocery bills keeps on coming. People do care and what they give keeps the drop-in centre shelves stocked.
Gould, the executive director, started out as St. Vincent de Paul Society volunteer 41 years ago and every year her job reminds her of the compassion and kindness of strangers, whether it’s a donation of food to the drop-in centre or clothing/household items given to the thrift store on Third Avenue.
“Everything hits so fast at Christmas but it’s a good time, you always see the generosity of the people of our community to feed and clothe people,” said Gould. “We see it all year but we really appreciate it at this time.
“We’re a very small non-profit organization and we don’t have the staff or money to put psychiatric workers in to help these people, so at least we can help them in their journey just to feed them. We haven’t missed one meal all over COVID, although the cost of food is going up, but people are just so kind and generous.”
Last week at a donation/fundraising event at the Prestige Treasure Cove Hotel, Gould met a young mother who brought her two young daughters and each of them handed over a doll that will go to another young girl as a present to be included in a Christmas hamper that will be delivered next week.
“The girls were maybe six and four and I was thanking them and then the lady teared up,” said Gould. “She told me it was over 20 years ago the St. Vincent de Paul had delivered a hamper to her home - her mom and dad had split up. She said, ‘I have that doll to this day and I always want to, as much as I can, to be able to supply a doll for another child so they will have a Christmas.’
“It touched me deeply because the people who donated those toys and the people who delivered then had no idea that an act of kindness would touch someone’s life forever. To think, the people who donated their time to put the hampers together did not know what an impact a doll would have on someone’s life.”
Gould remembers a single father who struggled with his decision before he finally applied to receive a food hamper. When he came by to pick up his hamper he was asked if there was anything else he needed.
“He told us he used to go to his grandma’s every Christmas and she always had pumpkin pie,” said Gould. “Well I can assure you, he got three or four pumpkin pies because people were so touched.”
St. Vincent’s doesn’t have its own food bank and collaborates with the Salvation Army Food Bank and can go to their collection points to get some food items. It also receives a $6,000 monthly grant to buy fruit and vegetables and healthy food, but the majority of food and cash is donated at the drop-in centre at 1645 Third Ave.
This year they will deliver 160 Christmas hampers, including 50 to seniors. The seniors list doubled this year.
“We’re getting a lot more hungry people and we’re tried to increase the amount of food that we’re giving,” said Gould. “It’s all take-out because we’re short of volunteers to open up (the drop-in centre serving tables).
“Next week we will serve a very nice Christmas dinner as a take-out, it really pulls at my heartstrings. Last year it was very cold and we a couple nurses who delivered 68 dinners to the encampments and I’m sure we can do that this year. I’m just hoping the weather will be warmer.”
