Demand for House of Friendship Christmas program shuts down phoneline, hundreds queue online
A nonprofit organization is reporting overwhelming demand for an annual program that gives people a Christmas meal.
House of Friendship, a Waterloo Region based organization, opened up registrations for their Christmas Food Program on Nov. 1.
The number of people who immediately went to sign up was staggering, with 1,000 people in the online queue in the first hour. Christmas Food Program supervisor Natanya Wombwell says that’s compared to about 300 at the same time last year.
“We were seeing more than triple the demand the first day,” Wombwell told CTV News, noting that it doesn’t include Cambridge, where registrations opened a few days later.
“We did as best as we could to prepare for the high volumes over the phones and the website. But unfortunately, the first day we had both of them crash.”
Later that afternoon, the House of Friendship posted an update, saying they were still actively working on registering as many participants as possible.
The Christmas Food Program is part of the Waterloo Region Christmas Support Network that helps people living on a low income in Waterloo Region. The program provides about 4,600 families a frozen turkey or other protein and a gift card to help them put a special holiday meal on the table.
It took less than a week for nearly all this year’s spaces to be filled.
The need for food is greater than ever this year, with an estimated one in eight families in Waterloo Region struggling to afford food.
Kim Wilhelm, the CEO of the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, says this time of year can be especially difficult for many people.
“Weather gets cooler. People are having to buy winter clothing, warmer clothing. Heat expenses in homes go up,” says Wilhelm. “There’s generally an increase in expenses at this time of year.”
Once the Christmas Food Program is full, people who are still interested can put their name on a waitlist. Those involved also emphasize that there are other sources of support for those who need it.
“We will make sure that if you are in need of food assistance, we will connect you with the appropriate resources to get the food that you need,” says Wilhelm.
“We do want to emphasize anyone that was not able to get into the food registration that there are still supports available in the community. They may not be Christmas specific, but no one will go hungry,” says Wombwell.
The program is possible thanks to the combined efforts of the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, the Rotary Club of Kitchener Conestoga’s annual Turkey Drive, other community donations and hundreds of volunteers. Those wishing to donate to support the efforts can do so via the organizations’ websites.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau to announce temporary GST relief on select items heading into holidays
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will announce a two-month GST relief on select items heading into holidays to address affordability issues, sources confirm to CTV News.
'Ding-dong-ditch' prank leads to kidnapping, assault charges for Que. couple
A Saint-Sauveur couple was back in court on Wednesday, accused of attacking a teenager over a prank.
Border agency detained dozens of 'forced labour' cargo shipments. Now it's being sued
Canada's border agency says it has detained about 50 shipments of cargo over suspicions they were products of forced labour under rules introduced in 2020 — but only one was eventually determined to be in breach of the ban.
'It changed my life': Montreal-area woman learning how to walk after being hit by stray bullet
A 24-year-old woman is learning how to walk again after being shot while lying in her bed in Repentigny, Que.
DEVELOPING International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas officials
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza and the October 2023 attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory.
Genetic evidence backs up COVID-19 origin theory that pandemic started in seafood market
A group of researchers say they have more evidence to suggest the COVID-19 pandemic started in a Chinese seafood market where it spread from infected animals to humans. The evidence is laid out in a recent study published in Cell, a scientific journal, nearly five years after the first known COVID-19 outbreak.
Donald Trump picks former U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra as ambassador to Canada
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has nominated former diplomat and U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra to be the American ambassador to Canada.
REVIEW 'Gladiator II' review: Come see a man fight a monkey; stay for Denzel's devious villain
CTV film critic Richard Crouse says the follow-up to Best Picture Oscar winner 'Gladiator' is long on spectacle, but short on soul.
Alabama to use nitrogen gas to execute man for 1994 slaying of hitchhiker
An Alabama prisoner convicted of the 1994 murder of a female hitchhiker is slated Thursday to become the third person executed by nitrogen gas.