Thunder Bay's Dew Drop Inn is serving more meals than ever as inflation fuels food insecurity

Marcus Koski has been coming to the St. Andrew's Dew Drop Inn for food every day for the last 10 years.

The Thunder Bay, Ont. man says walking over to the space is a highlight in his day. He is on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), and going to the Dew Drop Inn gives him the chance to get out of the house, get a meal and connect with people in the community.

"I'm glad I got this place. I mean, I wouldn't know what to do without it," he said.

The Dew Drop Inn has been operating for 42 years. It served 122,768 meals in 2022, which is the most they've ever served in a year, and the numbers keep going up.

In 2023, records have already been shattered. This January and February, respectively, saw 2,500 and 2,000 more meals per month from the year before, with a recent high of 488 meals in a single day — excluding the holidays, when 682 turkey dinners were served last Thanksgiving. 

To executive director Michael Quibell, the numbers are a sign of the times — and the times are getting tougher.

"People are struggling, especially those on fixed income, senior citizens, people on Ontario Works, ODSP. It's really hard for them," Quibell said. 

Between 20 and 25 per cent of people coming to the Dew Drop Inn are new and about 60 per cent of its patrons are over age 60, he said. Because of this, volunteers hand out more than 70 special bags to seniors each Monday.

People are paying more for less due to inflation and facing hard choices, Quibell said. 

The Ontario Living Wage Network calculated that Thunder Bay's living wage was $16.30 per hour in 2021 and jumped to $19.70 per hour in 2022. Meanwhile, minimum wage is $15.50 per hour across the province.

"We had a woman come in, a young mother, and she had to make a choice between [buying a] prescription for her daughter or food — and she chose the prescription, which was her food money," said Quibell.

The Dew Drop Inn has eight volunteers on the morning shift and eight in the afternoon, amounting to 40,000 volunteer hours a year.

Hunger doesn't take a holiday, which is why lunches are served seven days a week, Quibell said. Even their Christmas meal is served on Christmas Day.

Food is donated from community members, business owners, grocery stores and agencies. They also receive rescued food through the Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA), which includes food approaching the best before or expiry date. Anything that isn't used in the kitchen is given away.