Over all the years The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation has been running, they’ve seen the need grow. “We have definitely seen the need here in Muskoka, even though it’s very much a cottage country sort of place. There is a back door of Muskoka that a lot of people don’t see. We see it every day here at the table,” said Heather Cassie with The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation. And they’ve grown with it. Last year, nine percent of the 24,000 people in Huntsville used their services. “We do not say no to anybody that comes through our doors. They can shop once a week and receive, a large, a large amount of food,” Cassie. They now have a soup kitchen, food bank and garden, food rescue, community kitchen, and men’s hostel, all managed out of a mall. “Supporting them with some donations we give them every month. And also, looking after the property and, organize with them whatever they need. They call us. We come and help them and anything, like that,” said their landlord, Sargit Uppal. But the work isn’t done. Now The Table is raising money for a 34-bed emergency shelter. “In Muskoka, we have seen the need for an emergency shelter. We see that there’s so many vulnerable people in our community that do not have any place to go. And as it’s getting colder outside, the need has just really, really shown its face,” said Cassie. They have the space, they have the plans, but they still need donors to make it happen. “We don’t believe that the need in Muskoka is being well taken care of, and that there’s still many, many who are struggling with homelessness that don’t belong in hotels.” “We’ve turned hotels into emergency shelters, and that’s not right,” Cassie said.
