Monday 19 December 2022

Dec. 19, 2023

Hanukkah Edition


This evening, Lowell and I lit the first candle of our chanukkiah with our daughters and granddaughters on FaceTime. Instantly, it brought us all joy. 

The holiday reminds us to continue the tradition of brightening the darkness with light. 

Every other Wednesday, our Out of the Cold group brightens people’s days and nights. Instead of being paralyzed with hands tied and unable to spark a resistance against poverty, we are Judah the Maccabee-sized-heroes!  We illuminate a solution to inspire a movement that brightens the paths of others whose worlds need saving.  Our guests share their struggles with us and are met with more kindness than they ever thought possible.  The dreidels in this week’s gift bags of toiletries, socks, etc. may symbolize the hope and partnerships needed to combat their challenges. 

Our heroes give their time, their money, they sweeten our meals with home baked goodies, donate toiletries, clothes, food, sundries and much much more. Each gift brings dignity and humanity to someone. I promise. 

The Mishna teaches us: There is one who gives generously, yet ends with more.

Here are some of our recently ‘approved’ heroes :)  Please show your support. 

Gastro Market and Catering, King St. E.,  providing appetizers
Fortinos Main Street West, bread
Lococo’s, both locations produce and fruit
Soldaat’s Poultry
Infarm hydroponic farm in Mt. Hope. Their lettuces and herbs yields more than their purchasers’ needs, so we are privileged to accept their fresh gifts.
Costco Business Centre, St Catherines - beef and chicken
Mrs. Sylvia Johnson, 92 years old and blind who knitted dishcloths for our guests’ gift bags 

May your holiday bring you peace and fulfillment, good health and joy.

Cindy

Thursday 3 November 2022

Nov. 3, 2022

 Hi everyone, 

What a beautiful day to welcome back our guests and volunteers.

Our group prepared 200 meals that included DELICIOUS roasted chicken over Thai pasta with vegetables, fruit, baked goods from Nancy, Jane, Gail AND Betina, leftover Halloween treats, obviously, etc.  Ninety-one guests took away 157 meals. 

Twenty meals went to the community fridge at Barton and James.  I’ve heard it is always empty which was almost the case. Two containers of rotting asparagus in the fridge and zero in the pantry.  As I was loading the fridge with the full bags, people starting to come out from nowhere. Please believe me when I tell you that their need was clear and unmistakable. Another 15 meals went to the community fridge on Ottawa St. 

The breads from Fortinos were plentiful and Lococo’s gave us a cases of bananas, berries and avocados for our outdoor market. The generosity is never ending.  Our chicken wholesaler, Soldaats, actually lowered their price even after I begged them to raise it after four years without any increase.  St. Mary’s Catholic High School invited us on Tuesday to load up on their Scare Hunger Halloween Food Drive.  Now, THAT was fun!

Please spread the word to any potential bakers that their specialties are always welcome!  Toiletries, socks, gloves are being collected too. 

Why do we go to these great efforts?  It is always for our guests.  We all are shocked at grocery store prices and inflation at every turn.  Your commitment to making the lives of others healthier and less challenging is spoken of by our guests frequently.  

Let a new season of kindness be born.

Thanks to all of you.

Cindy

Sunday 30 October 2022

Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022

 We begin our group’s 24th year THIS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 !

Erskine Presbyterian is located at 19 Pearl St. N, just north of King Street West.  The parking lot is reserved for church staff and programs that are finally in-person and busy again.  Please find parking on side streets and mind the time restrictions.  The church entrance door is up the ramp adjacent to the parking lot.  Ring the bell and we will come running to let you in.

Volunteers are required to self-monitor for symptoms before leaving home. If any symptoms develop or if contact is made with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, volunteers must advise their coordinator, me, immediately.

If you are new to our amazing group, please bring in a proof of vaccination. At least two vaccinations are required.  Booster shots are highly recommended. We require all volunteers to use masks and/or shields while on site.  All are provided or bring your own.

Upon arriving, each volunteer must complete the Hamilton Out of the Cold sign in sheet and provide contact information should contact tracing be required. The sign in sheet is in the Blue Room which was formally the Yellow Room.  The new paint colour is called “Bit of Heaven” - totally serious!!  Please record your name, phone number and time you arrived and before leaving, record the time. This will be helpful if we need to quickly contact trace. 

As before, wash your hands with soap in the small kitchen sink and report to duty.

Bring your own apron if you like. 

Kitchen cooking crew must don provided hair nets or full coverage hats.

My cell phone number is ... and I have had my ducts cleaned recently.)  Otherwise, call me if you are running late or cannot attend at the last minute. If you know of vacations or dates that you are unable to attend, please let me know, email, text or call, in advance so that replacements can be arranged.

As always, we welcome your input now or anytime. Our program is better because of you!  

See you this Wednesday, November 2.  

Cindy


Tuesday 19 April 2022

April 15, 2022

 Dear Out of the Cold Volunteers and Supporters, 

 Break away from your Passover and Easter preparations for a well-deserved group ‘hug’ or shall I say ‘chag’ (a homonym of hug, which means ‘holiday’ in Hebrew.)

With your support, we were able to distribute 2,303 nourishing meals to 1270 guests over 11 weeks. By the end of the season, we were preparing 260 meals, sometimes even more. Each takeaway bag contained a meat (beef or chicken,) rice, potatoes or pasta, vegetables and/or salad, fruit, a granola bar, a home baked treat and often much more. The cost of proper packaging was well-worth keeping foods safely contained. We were told that guests often ate their meals immediately around the corner on a bench or on a curb. If anyone asked for more than one meal to save for later, they got it, no questions asked. Hadar’s Yitzhak Bronstein asks us to “consider the flow of our modern Seder. We begin by breaking matzah and putting away some pieces for later, recalling the food insecurity of a slave whose next meal is not guaranteed.”

Who is accessing our meals and why? 

More seniors. At first embarrassed, but a few minutes of kibbitzing and getting to know each other quickly solved that. How do you choose between food and heat, housing, transportation, masks, gloves and sanitizer? Plus, those ‘affordable’ traditional home meal delivery programs are financially inaccessible now.

Homeless or precariously housed individuals who do not have food preparation and storage sites.

 Low-income individuals who are unemployed or underemployed and cannot keep up with the increased cost of living. We hear it all the time! After expenses, $200 is what some people budget for food, PER MONTH. What to do? Skip meals, access food banks, frequent other meal providers like OOTC. 

Food prices have risen, increased, SOARED!  (…and if the product price didn’t go up, the contents’ size went down!)

For our group, the cost to feed a guest one takeaway meal: $2.90.

Average cost for one night: $613 !  (Yes, seriously $613, no joking!  613 = The number of Commandments, including mitzvot, that God prescribes.)

How do we do it?

  • quarterly cheques from Homeless Cars (donate your car!)
  • donations-in-kind from Lococo’s, Fortino’s Main West and friends like you.
  • great pricing from Soldaat’s Poultry, Costco in St. Catherines and die-hard shopping for sales and bulk items!
  • expert and experienced bakers who went about producing thousands of tasty cookies and muffins and never asked to be reimbursed a nickel or bag of flour or a litre of oil. We know how much our guests tasted your care for them.


What will Out of the Cold look like next season in November?


·      One sec, I’ll check my COVID calendar, crystal ball or The One Above.  All depends on Public Health, the virus and the comfort level of our guests, volunteers and host churches. 

·      If food prices stay as they are now, and if we return to in-person meals, purchasing excessive quantities of soup vegetables and salads of lettuce may be prohibitive so menus may change but rest assured, we will make them nutritious and delicious! 

·      Bags of hygiene (toiletries) products will be distributed at least once. If you’re travelling again, enjoy your holidays and come back with hotel toiletries and more. We had to purchase much of it this year. Guests were invited to take one bag or more if they wanted. Many guests declared they were not in need allowing others to take two. We were overjoyed when Hamilton Jewish Federation shared thousands of medical masks and sanitizers too.  Frequently guests received handfuls of masks in the takeaway bags. Whenever you’re feeling grateful, grab a 12-pack of soap, deodorant, shavers, lotion, shampoo, conditioner to get things rolling for next season!

·      Socks, scarves, hats and gloves! Oh my!  They are staples to our guests’ comfort.

·      With the availability of vaccines, we were able to welcome a few extra people per shift making it much less stressful. Hopefully we can re-employ those who could not join us since March 2020.

My heart is full of gratitude for all our volunteers who worked tirelessly and still maintained smiles behind their masks. The OOTC staff, Janice and Megan, the OOTC Board and Erskine Presbyterian provided guidance and generosity at every turn.  Absolutely inspirational!

Have a wonderful and safe Passover, Easter, Spring and Summer. If there are times you would like to reach out or drop off items, please do so.  November to March isn’t long enough to stay engaged :) We should always heed the call to do far more to alleviate the suffering of vulnerable people struggling to subsist.

Be well.     

Cindy