For Edward, it’s all the food he’ll need for the day.
In the basement of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in downtown Victoria, the 74-year-old gets a hot bowl of soup, a ham sandwich on thick bread, a hard-boiled egg, banana and apple, some yogurt and a tub of peanut butter. He also gets some brownies and a loaf of bread.
“It’s always good here,” he says, stuffing the bagged lunch into his backpack.
He picks food supplies up every weekday at the Soup Kitchen, where teams of volunteers start preparing soup and sandwiches at 4:30 a.m. and distribute the food to those living on the edge.
On a chilly morning last week, Edward, who turns 75 in January, explains that he lived outdoors for 10 years, but now has a place.
Having prepared food every day is a way to get through on a very limited senior’s income, he said. “This is a great place to come for me.”
It’s been 41 years since Murray and Edna Black started the little soup kitchen for people in need at St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
It started out as the 9 to 10 Club with just three guests, but word quickly got out that it was a friendly place to go for a good meal, a safe place where there was a sense of community — no matter what your situation or denomination.
Today, it’s simply called the Soup Kitchen and it stands as the longest-running service of its kind in the capital region. Though dining in has been suspended since the pandemic, the charity has continued preparing heaping lunches for those in need for takeout.
Sheila Connelly, who leads about 90 volunteers, said the number of people needing meals is at a record high.
Connelly said volunteers are serving between 160 and 165 people every day from Monday to Friday — up from about 100 a day four years ago. The daily count has at times exceeded 200, depending on when welfare and security cheques are issued.
And the clientele not only includes people living on the street, but increasingly those with mental and physical disabilities, seniors on limited incomes and even working people who are grappling with rising costs of living, particularly food.
“We’re seeing lot of new faces … even people stopping in on their way to work. A lot of people are having a tough time,” said Connelly.
The priority is to give people enough food to sustain them for an entire day, she said.
Connelly said it’s a substantial meal and, for most, the only one they might get on any given day.
But it doesn’t happen without donations of food and cash to pay a $3,500 bi-weekly grocery bill, she said.
That’s where donations to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund help to defray some of those weekly costs.
The money from donations is distributed through the local chapter of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller.
The goal of the Times Colonist Christmas Fund this year is to raise $1 million to support causes like the Soup Kitchen and other charitable organizations.
Cindy Lacroix has been greeting patrons of the Soup Kitchen full time for the past two years. She greets everyone who comes to the gate that leads into the basement of the cathedral.
Everyone knows her and she knows them. There are fist bumps and hugs — one man says Lacroix’s smile and greeting “made my day after a rough night.”
“She’s a blessing,” adds Matthew, who arrives early and eats his lunch nearby with his guitar.
Lacroix, a support worker for the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness, said the Soup Kitchen is a vital part of daily survival for many.
She said being an Indigenous survivor of trauma, she has empathy for the marginalized who often struggle to get through the day.
“More than half who come here every day are homeless … they have less than nothing,” said Lacroix. “I can be having what I think is a bad day, but everyone who comes here inspires me. They have nothing and they come with a smile and that’s encouraging to me.”
She said it’s heartbreaking to see more working families use the Soup Kitchen and increasingly students who are living in their vehicles because rents are too high or spaces are just not available.
The volunteer corps ranges from high schoolers and university students to people in their 80s. Groups of six, including a cook and team leader, work in daily shifts, usually starting the night before, making soups and preparing sandwiches.
Volunteers also do the weekly shopping and deliver much-needed food donations from businesses, including Cobs Bread in Oak Bay.
The Soup Kitchen is supported by the Catholic Diocese and Bishop Barry Gordon. A major kitchen renovation a decade ago has made the operation much more efficient.
Students from St. Joseph’s Elementary School have grown tons of potatoes used in the soups over the years on a plot on the school grounds, including a remarkable 1,500 pounds of spuds this year.
Gary Skabeikis, a co-lead with Gerry Poulton on a recent morning, said volunteers make several kinds of soups, including hamburger-based with vegetables or pasta and chicken with rice and vegetables.
There is also a split pea soup based on a recipe provided by Times Colonist food writer and chef Eric Akis.
Any food that is left over is delivered to Anawim House and Sandy Merriman House.
HOW TO DONATE TO THE CHRISTMAS FUND
You can donate by going to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund web page at tcchristmasfund.com
The page is linked to CanadaHelps, which is open 24 hours and provides an immediate tax receipt.
Or mail a cheque to the Times Colonist Christmas Fund, 201-655 Tyee Road, Victoria, B.C. V9A 6X5.
You can also use your credit card by phoning 250-995-4438 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
