The tables were filled and lines went through the halls of Victoria’s Our Place Society at 919 Johnson St. as patrons waited for the kitchen to open for Thanksgiving lunch.
In the dining hall, tables were set with fall decor, and diners would sit down to be served by community members and local celebrities for one of the favourite meals of the year.
“This is our way of trying to let everyone have family,” said Grant McKenzie, director of communications at Our Place. “For so many of the people we serve, we are the only family. People have suffered trauma in their life, abuse in their life and they’ve become disconnected so we try to open our kitchen, our living room, to everyone on the street.”
More than 1,000 pounds of turkey was served, along with all the trimmings: gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and of course, pumpkin pie.
READ MORE: Our Place serves up 125 pumpkin pies, 1,000 lbs of turkey and more for Thanksgiving
McKenzie added that this meal is especially popular since there’s a very long time between a special Easter celebration and Thanksgiving.
For John Daescuion, this meal, like all the others he eats at Our Place, makes him feel at home.
“I come here everyday because I’m not homeless when I come here to talk to people and eat a little bit of good food,” Daescuion said. “This place is wonderful, it’s a good community and I say happy Thanksgiving Day to everyone from all over the world.”
The meal was made possible by donations, both of food and funding. To donate at any time visit ourplacesociety.com/donate
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