A Hamilton charity that helps feed those in need is now seeking help of its own.
The co-ordinator for Gore Park Outreach, a group of volunteers delivering free food every Saturday for those less fortunate in the community, says they’re now in desperate need of storage space to accommodate recent surges in donations.
Jeffrey Ng says several manufacturers are donating multiple pallets of product, but at present there’s no place to store it.
“Unfortunately, we just don’t have the space to put it in, ” said Ng.
“And it saddens me because if I have the space … I would be able to provide additional supplies to people that are in need.”
The plea comes after the outreach served food for a record 560 people in Gore Park on Saturday.
Ng and some 100 volunteers spend their Saturdays picking up donations and cooking meals for a host of people in the downtown park.
He says it all started “by accident” during the COVID-19 era while helping various charities aiding marginalized people.
Driving home on a cold February in 2021, Ng was stunned by the number of makeshift homes constructed primarily of tarps strewn across King Street around Hughson.
“I saw rows and rows of people literally covered in snow. They were cold,” Ng said.
“Basically, I approached them and said, ‘How can I help?’ Most were hungry and … very cold.”
Reaching out to six friends, Ng the following Saturday showed up with peanut butter, bread, jam and a pot of chicken noodle soup.
Typically, Ng sees some 400 people at the outreach every Saturday, with half bringing grocery bags to fill up with donated fruits, crackers and toiletries.
“We actually finished early (Saturday) because we ran out of supplies,” he recalled.
“So we had to apologize to a lot of people … waiting in line. And again, we were not expecting that many.”
Food Share Hamilton reported in October 2022 that the city has the second-highest per capita food bank visits in Ontario.
The non-profit estimates some 4,220 people access services in the city every month, with many facing homelessness, since some 96 per cent of users pay more than 30 per cent of their income on housing.
“A single person just on welfare alone, they make about $800. They’re already $1,200 below the poverty line,” Santucci explained to Global News.
Ng says the shocking part of their recent clientele is about 80 per cent are either those 65-plus, people with disabilities, families with kids or students.
“And the other 20 per cent are people living in shelters and people living on the streets,” Ng said.
Gore Park Outreach is always looking for basic food donations but is now also on the lookout for any space an individual or business may have.
Anyone who can provide storage space can reach out via the Gore Park Outreach website.