Operators of Downtown Eastside meal program say demand is greater than ever
Posted July 25, 2020 8:30 am.
Last Updated July 25, 2020 8:55 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The operators of a meal program for the homeless on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside say, given the overdose crisis and now the COVID-19 pandemic, demand is greater than ever.
“We run Save On Meats as a full-service diner and, of course, we had to shut that down on March 16th,” explains Ash MacLeod, executive director of the A Better Life Foundation. “We focused 100 per cent on our meal program to sort of fill a bit of a void that was created as other food providers had to shut down and really tried to keep food in bellies as much as we were able to.”
MacLeod says, once the pandemic hit, they went from serving 1,000 meals a day to 1,700, virtually overnight.
“And in doing so, we kept all of our staff employed and we’ve been really, really super proud of being able to do that and the impact we’ve been able to have.”
MacLeod doesn’t see the Save On Meats diner opening to the public until again at least the New Year, while they continue to focus solely on the meal program.
