After expenses, the St. Joe’s Supper Table soup kitchen and food bank raised $8,670 at its main fundraiser of the year, the Harvest Dinner on October 26th. More than 150 people attended the event, filling the St. Joseph’s Parish Hall with lots of laughter, fellowship and a real sense of community. Organizers were especially pleased to welcome and thank members of their sister Oblate parish, Sacré-Coeur — a neighbouring community that has been a supporter of the Supper Table for many years, collecting food items at their Sunday Masses on a regular basis and making financial contributions, too.
Kathleen Strader, the Manager of the St. Joe’s Supper Table, presented a gift to Danielle DeBanne, Chair of Sacré-Coeur’s Parish Pastoral Council — notably an original painting by one of our talented clients. Organizers were also excited to see the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate – OMI Lacombe Canada, the English Oblate province of this Catholic religious order, represented at the event by a number of priests. The Oblate Charism is what got the St. Joe’s Supper Table off the ground in 1978 and inspires it today.
Will Matthias and Tim Klaassen, the Supper Table’s young cooks, staffed the kitchen and prepared the four-course meal.
The Supper Table serves hot meals Tuesday to Friday beginning at 5:00 pm, as well as offers a take-away sandwich and coffee service each morning, Monday to Friday. Serving the most vulnerable in downtown Ottawa, the Supper Table welcomes nearly 100 guests each weekday and operates the only food bank in Sandy Hill.