An organization that helps homeless people in Halifax is making a public plea for donations after its new walk-in freezer went offline.
Les Porter, the chef at Souls Harbour Rescue Mission, says it was 70 degrees inside the freezer when he opened the door Monday morning, resulting in the loss of nearly $1,000 worth of meat.
“We lost all of our meat. We had about three or four big turkeys, a great big chub of hamburger, some other chicken, some pork loins,” says Porter.
The freezer was part of kitchen renovations at Souls Harbour and had been installed just before Christmas.
They noticed a problem Friday and had someone in to look at it, but it went offline over the weekend.
“This week we’re OK. I had in my mind, I had the plan and everything like that, but for starting next week, we’ll need to have it restocked and filled up again,” says Porter.
The incident has prompted Souls Harbour to make a public plea on social media, asking for donations of meats and cheese to replace what was lost.
Despite the loss, there is no time for staff and volunteers to slow down at Souls Harbour, which can serve anywhere from 75 to 140 meals daily, from Monday to Friday.
“Souls Harbour provides over 30,000 meals a year,” says executive director Michelle Porter. “We’ve seen a 33 per cent increase over the past 12 months.”
In addition to the organization’s immediate needs, staff and volunteers are already looking ahead to Easter, when they will be serving 300 to 350 people.
“So, not only do we need to stock that freezer for our regular needs, but also with the special ingredients that will go to providing that three-course meal for Easter,” says Porter.
With such high demand, staff hope they can restock their freezer sooner rather than later.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster
