THUNDER BAY – Local groups offering food and shelter grappled with a Christmas like none other in living memory Friday, handing out hundreds of meals to go and foregoing traditional gatherings.
At the Shelter House in the city’s south end, volunteer Mandi O’Connor had prepared a massive, elaborate cake for the shelter’s Christmas dinner.
Few of the hundreds who enjoyed it would take in its full glory, however, as they picked up packaged meals outside the organization’s George Street location thanks to COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s very different from our typical Christmases here – typically we’d have tablecloths on the table, we’d have a big sit-down dinner,” said executive director Michelle Jordan. “Usually we serve about 600 people.”