Friendship Inn preparing to feed 1,500 at Thanksgiving

The turkeys are thawing and the potatoes and carrots are being peeled, but the Saskatoon Friendship Inn is looking for donations before serving up one of its biggest free meals of the year.

The community centre on 20th Street is hoping more turkey and cranberry donations arrive this week as it anticipates serving 1,500 people during its annual Thanksgiving meal on Monday.

Engagement manager Laura Herman estimates another 40 birds will be needed for the meal.

“We need those turkeys to tootle over to the Inn and hop in our oven,” Herman said.

“We would love for people to drop them off. I think we’re doing OK with veggies, potatoes, stuffing and pies. It’s that protein piece we’re hoping to have a little bit of extra help with.”

When Herman looks into the dining room each day, she is seeing fewer and fewer empty seats.

The Friendship Inn recorded its busiest two months ever in August and September and Herman doesn’t foresee numbers going down.

“We served over 40,000 meals in each of those two months. It’s busy here,” she said.

“We’ve got lots of familiar faces in the dining room, but there are new faces that we see every day too. We do our best to check in with people and see how they’re doing and if there are other ways we can help them have an easier day.”

While inflation has eased a bit over the summer, Herman said most of the Friendship Inn’s clients still find it expensive to make ends meet, which is the main reason she believes the centre is seeing more visitors on a daily basis.

“We all see it. When we go to the grocery store, we see the increase in food prices (and) the increase at the gas pump,” Herman said. “Life is expensive for people and we just want to make sure that everyone in our community has access to a warm, nutritious meal.”

Other items on the centre’s wish list include:

• Pantry staples like cooking oil, sugar, ketchup, salt and pepper;
• Chicken or beef stock base;
• Dried seasonings such as bay leaf, garlic, pepper, parsley, lemon pepper, dill, thyme, rosemary, sage, cumin and garam masala;
• Diapers, especially sizes 4 and 5;
• Pull-ups, especially 3T, 4T & 5T;
• Baby formula; and
• Toothbrushes, deodorant, feminine pads, men’s razors, shampoo and conditioner, and unisex T-shirts.

Herman said donations can be dropped off every day between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monetary gifts can also be made online.