Organizers for a Christmas dinner giveaway taking place next week say they're still looking for volunteers to help out.
The 6th annual Greg Lemay and Macro Foods giveaway goes on Wednesday, December 20.
This year they're doing 1,500 meals thanks to the support of more than 15 sponsors who provide financial support, on top of other sponsors who provide things like cutlery.
The dinner includes turkey breast, corn, stuffing, cranberries, a dinner roll along with a bottle of water.
Lemay says the meals will come vacuum sealed, and can be stored for up five days in the refrigerator.
"Basically what we're looking for at this point is drivers on December 20 around 10 a.m. at Macro Foods. We need about 10 more to make this work, because that's really the vital part of this. I pick up the food, Macro cook the food, everything's prepped, it's routed, and we get it out to the people's homes that need it," he said.
He says this year has been different given the economic realties for so many, and a lot of the folks calling him about the dinners have been more emotional.
"I've been getting a lot of tears on the phone which is not something I'm used to, it seems like the need has grown with the food banks the way they are. Inflation on the food, we're feeling that on our end as well. This year will push us into over 5,000 meals in our short existence of what we've been able to cook, provide, and put out into the community."
Lemay says their numbers have continued to climb since the first giveaway six years ago, when they handed out between 200 or 300 meals.
"The third year we went to 623, the fourth year we were at 1,000, the fifth year 1,000, and this year now 1,500. The need is obviously growing, this is an initiative we want to see shrink not grow, but obviously with how things are people are having to decide whether they're paying rent or eating a meal. And it's unfortunate," he said.
Anyone interested in volunteering can reach out to Lemay via social media, email (greglemayforthepeople@gmail.ca) or phone at 519-995-9866.
Lemay says they need people to show up at Moy Avenue and Wyandotte Street on Wednesday to join the fleet of cars that will be delivering the meals.