Thanksgiving at Soupateria

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Volunteers at Penticton's soup kitchen are preparing to serve turkey with all the trimmings to the community's less fortunate on Monday.

A good sized crowd is expected for the special sit down Thanksgiving dinner at the Soupateria.

"This summer was our busiest yet, since we started taking statistics, and the fall continues to be busy," said Mary Murkin, a team leader at the soup kitchen, as she made salads and other dishes on Saturday.

Murkin said it's hard to provide an exact reason for the growth, but the summer did see a lot of fruit pickers in town, as well as people moving back to B.C. from Alberta.

On Saturday, people waiting outside in the chilly weather, said they were grateful the Soupateria is providing a Thanksgiving meal.

"I just got here to Penticton and I currently don't have a roof over my head," said a woman named Nicole, who didn't give her last name. "So I really appreciate this. These nice people are making the effort to give us a traditional meal like we would have when we were kids."

Eric, a young man who is in the Okanagan picking fruit, described it as awesome.

"It's pretty sweet," he said. "Just nice to have a warm meal on Thanksgiving."

The Soupateria, at 150 Orchard Avenue, is open seven days a week, offering lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Operated totally by volunteers, it relies solely on donations from the community.

Monday's meal will also be from 11:30 to 12:30.