Good Shepherd Hamilton prepares over 1,600 meals for Thanksgiving weekend

Over 1,600 meals were prepared this Thanksgiving weekend for clients of Good Shepherd Hamilton.

Chefs, staff and volunteers prepared for the holiday weekend, weeks in advance, cooking meals and freezing them as they go.

“We make and freeze a lot of the turkeys so that we’re ready for today, and leaning into our strengths and things that we’ve done in the past and making sure we’ve got everything in place to assemble the meals for the large number of people that we’ll see,” said Greg McCausland, the kitchen supervisor at Good Shepherd Hamilton.

“We’re fortunate to have 10 full-time staff in the kitchen and we’re supported by a group of over 40 volunteers that help out each day of the week, both here and at our Venture Centre Food Bank location, so we’re very fortunate to have the work of those volunteers that fulfill our mission as well.”

Clients are expected to arrive at Good Shepherd Hamilton on Mary Street, between 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Monday to pick up their Thanksgiving meals.

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This year, Good Shepherd Hamilton is offering a roasted turkey dinner, which includes mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, seasonal vegetables, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, juice and a piece of fruit.

Aside from Thanksgiving, in 2025 over 100,000 meals were served by Good Shepherd Hamilton.

They are reportedly currently operating at capacity or above.

“It’s a challenging time in our community, without a doubt, I think most people are aware of that,” said Katherine Kalinowski, the COO of Good Shepherd Centres Hamilton. “Good Shepherd offers a broad continuum of services everything from emergency shelters and food security programs, senior services, palliative care and hospice as well as supportive housing.”

“Without question, we have a critical situation in terms of homelessness, mental health issues, substance use in this community, and that problem is actually growing. A lot of people are really challenged because of lack of safe, affordable housing, lack of supportive housing, so we are trying to respond to those things in a whole variety of ways, including shelter and mental health services, and supportive housing.”

Good Shepherd Hamilton is one of the largest providers of emergency food and clothing, hospice and palliative support, and mental health programs to the Greater Hamilton area.

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