Hamilton’s Good Shepherd is among the organizations that have prepared for a very different Thanksgiving because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Director Carmen Salciccioli says they are planning to make up to 500 “takeaway” meals for the city’s vulnerable population on Monday afternoon.
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Usually, Salciccioli says they host Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room of their Mary Street location and “people socialize, see old friends and make new ones.”
“Obviously, that’s not going to happen” this year, he said, because of public health measures.
Salciccioli adds that hot turkey dinners will instead be handed out from the doors of the dining hall, with masks required and in compliance with physical distancing guidelines.
Brother Richard MacPhee, the Good Shepherd’s chief executive officer, cautions that “for too many of us, 2020 has been one long, dark night.”
He adds that the pandemic has “hindered” efforts to alleviate food and housing insecurity, while warning that “social isolation puts added pressure on the well-being of our city’s vulnerable population.”
Read more:
What’s open, what’s closed on Thanksgiving Day in Hamilton, Burlington and Niagara Region
The Thanksgiving meal is free of charge to anyone in the community.
The menu includes roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, vegetables and dessert and will be served from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Monday.
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