Martha’s Table hosts annual Thanksgiving dinner in Kingston

For over 20 years, people have been volunteering their time at Martha’s Table in Kingston to feed people facing housing and food insecurity.

Their annual Thanksgiving dinner is one of the organization’s busiest weekends of the year.

Jannette Amini is just one of the many volunteers who took time out of their Thanksgiving weekend to help others.

“It’s just really great seeing all the people that come in here,” Amini said.

Volunteers were in all weekend preparing tons of food ahead of Monday’s big meal.

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“We’ve peeled about 75 pounds of carrots, 100 pounds of potatoes, and dressing is being made. A small army has helped,” said Ronda Candy, Martha’s Table’s executive director.

Yet as volunteers worked tirelessly, at the forefront of their minds were the people they were working for.

“It’s important to feed everyone in the community, so you need to give up a little bit, sacrifice your own time, and show up,” Amini said.

“They’ll say, ‘Thank you, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.’ And that was left written on a dinner napkin one time — and they meant it literally. They wouldn’t have survived,” Candy said.

More and more people are relying on food banks and meal services like Martha’s Table due to a combination of things facing Canadians, such as inflation making groceries more expensive than ever and pandemic-related financial constraints.

Candy said while it’s unfortunate, she’s glad that food insecurity is finally getting some of the attention it desperately needs.

“Hopefully, this raises some awareness on that level as well, that we need to do more as a country and a community to help people that just need a step up,” Candy said.

As for Amini, she said there’s no doubt why she doesn’t hesitate when it comes to helping out: “Knowing that I’m making a difference in the community and providing a community service.”