Finding thanks in a post-Fiona Thanksgiving

It’s two weeks to the day since post-tropical storm Fiona, and the prolonged cleanup has made for a Thanksgiving weekend that, for many, feels different.

Some have to scrimp to pay for turkey dinner. Others can’t afford it. And still, thousands of Atlantic Canadians don’t have their power restored.

But in the true spirit of the Maritimes, there are still reasons to be thankful.

“Living in my house with power and internet connectivity and everything, I can’t imagine what it’s like to feel that frustration and anxiety of, you know, 14, 15 days in,” Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Amanda McDougall tells CTV Atlantic.

For years on Thanksgiving weekend, people have been challenged to fill a transit bus full of food for the Loaves & Fishes community kitchen.

This year, the need to “stuff the bus” is even greater.

“We see our numbers going up,” said Marco Amati, manager of Loaves & Fishes. “We’re reaching 200 a day now.”

Of his ten years in business, Amati is expecting their busiest Thanksgiving dinner yet.

“Every year, our numbers have been climbing up,” he said. “But this year, it’s a dramatic climb.”

"I think so. Over the years it's been climbing up. Every year, our numbers have been climbing up. But this year, it's a dramatic climb."

According to Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab, roughly one in five people will be forced to trim their Thanksgiving dinner menu.

“Turkey is up 15, 16 per cent. Potatoes are up 22 per cent. Pumpkin pie filling is up almost 30 per cent in our region,” he said.

To top it all off, the long weekend started with a big hike in diesel prices --- tough news for home heating oil customers with the cold weather just around the corner.

But at a local vegan restaurant, there’s a story of success.

“Sales are up here for the plant-based turkeys, that’s for sure,” said James MacDonald of JJ’s Plant-Based Eats. “Everything is house-made here, and we put together a little holiday festive kit for folks – and we saw our biggest sales ever with them.”

There are other positives too, especially after the last two Thanksgiving holidays were interrupted by COVID-19 restrictions.

"Whether you have power or not, you can still gather, which is good news for everyone, I think,” Charlebois said. “Everyone needs a nice long weekend with family and friends."