Christmas Hamper

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Hundreds of people who can’t afford a grocery cart full of food received a special gift today, thanks to the Christmas Hamper program at the Good Shepherd. It’s been running for decades, but there are changes this year to accommodate a diverse population of people in need

The Good Shepherd says it has about 3000 hampers available and will help about 5400 people this holiday season.

They used to give out pre-packed hampers but now it changed to a grocery store model to better meet the needs of a diverse population. People can pick items off the shelves themselves with the help of more than 80 volunteers.

“What happens with programs like this is it truly prevents more people from becoming homeless because people are truly making a decision between paying the rent or putting food on the table and so if they pay the rent they have a place to live, and if they can come to the emergency food programs they’re at least able to eat.” said Alan Whittle from the Good Shepherd.

The program runs from now until December 21st. The Good Shepherd says that 45% of the people who benefit from food bank programs are children. In this case, children will have a good meal and a toy this Christmas thanks to all the donations made to The Good Shepherd.