​To celebrate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, volunteer and client, Steve Corrigal, is sharing what Morningstar's Mobile Community Meal Program means to him.

COVID-19 hasn’t been too bad for me, in terms of spending a lot of time alone. I was a truck driver for 30 years. I drove coast to coast in Canada and used to pick up and deliver at Gibbard’s and always liked Napanee.

When COVID hit I secluded myself big-time. I have asthma, COPD, and MS. The MS forced me into retirement five years ago, at age 55. I expected to be able to work at least ten more years, and never anticipated living on such a low income.

I’m divorced. I have children but they don’t live nearby. It’s just me in Napanee. I guess I’m like a lot of people in this community who shoulder the cost of living on a low-income alone.

Because of my health risks I really have kept to myself during the pandemic. It was two months before I went out—and even now I usually just go out for daily exercise. At first it cost $35 to have someone do my grocery shopping and bring it to the door. After paying for rent, phone, and my fall-safe device, there just isn’t money left to pay to have food delivered.

I’ve been going to Morningstar Mission for almost four years for the Saturday worship service, men’s breakfast and the community meals. And before my MS got worse I volunteered: washed tables, mopped floors, canned tomatoes, and even helped Kevin’s mother paint the bathroom. I can’t do that now with the MS: my right hand doesn’t work and my back and neck get sore. Standing and doing dishes is very exhausting.

I miss Morningstar and seeing friends and familiar faces, but this Mobile Community Meal Program has been a saviour. It cuts out trips to the store. I eat healthy—even my vegetables, because I know they are good for me. Without it I would have to shop more, cook more, clean more and MS makes all of those things a struggle. These meals give me breathing room: physically and financially.

I want to thank you Kevin, for all that you do, and the Community Foundation for helping to fund this meal outreach. More than anyone, though, I want to thank Morningstar’s volunteers: they’re very brave people. Right from the beginning of the pandemic they were running around town, fearlessly delivering meals to homes and apartments.

I am looking forward to going back to Morningstar when we’re ready to fire up again. In the meantime I’m grateful for today, and for being as strong as I can be because I eat properly.

To support the eradication of poverty in Greater Napanee and Lennox & Addington County you can make a donation to Morningstar Relief Mission, volunteer in support of our Mobile Community Meal Program or support the Community Foundation for Lennox and Addington's No Poverty 180 fund. 

Dear friends,

The turkeys are cooking and we’re ready for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving meal. In a moment of calm before the next storm, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to say thank you.

If I think about last Thanksgiving, and this one, I can hardly believe all of the change and upheaval we’ve experienced. I could chart the past twelve months at Morningstar Relief Mission on a graph, but it might be easier, and more accurate, to just sketch the outline of a roller coaster.

Back in February, when we celebrated the raising of an incredible $37,000 from the Coldest Night of the Year Event—definitely a high—we had no idea that in just a few weeks time we would have to close the  Warming Centre prematurely and shutter our community meal program. That was definitely a low.

COVID-19 turned everything on its head. Long-time volunteers had to step away due to the health risks, but others came in and filled the void. We’ve gone from 250 meals per week, locally, to nearly 1,300 countywide. Last September it took 700 volunteer hours to keep us going; this September it took nearly 1,000 hours to make our Mobile Community Meal Program possible.

Throughout this season of challenge I have been comforted by the knowledge that God never asks us to solve big problems by ourselves; only to use the gifts we have been given to love our neighbours as ourselves.

That’s the spirit I have always seen at work at Morningstar. Every day I am blessed to work alongside so many volunteers who show love, in small but meaningful ways, for those in need: a car to deliver meals, a steady hand to peel potatoes, a warm smile for a newcomer who has bravely approached our hospitality table to ask for a meal. We must never forget, as a community, how hard that is for people to do.

Unfortunately this roller coaster ride doesn’t feel like it’s going to end any time soon. Saying “Thank you” for all that you, and our whole family of volunteers, have done doesn’t seem like enough. But it will have to do for now.

No matter how difficult things get, I have faith that because of people like you Morningstar will continue to carry the load—that it will never be too much for any one of us to bear—and we’ll continue to respond to this crisis with grace and compassion.

Wishing you and yours a peaceful, healthy, and blessed Thanksgiving,

Kevin Alkenbrack
Executive Director
​Morningstar Relief Mission

Throughout the summer and fall of 2020 Michelle McBryde has been delivering vegetables from her garden to Morningstar. When asked why she thought it was important to support Morningstar, this is what she had to say:
 
There’s a quote I love by Mother Theresa, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”  I have always felt that leading with your heart, and the actions that result from it, are investments in others. You could say my garden is an investment in our community.
 
Macallen is my youngest child and he often gardens with me. There are practical lessons I hope to teach him in this work: learning to be self sufficient, to see the value in growing his own food, knowing where our food comes from, the benefits of healthy eating, and the joy of being outdoors.
 
But there are larger lessons, too, that our garden can teach him about community: that whatever adversity you face in life you still have the ability to be a contributing member of your community and that we all have a responsibility to serve others with love and compassion.
 
Macallen is a smart little guy. We have been quietly helping others since he was born and he understands the need to be a part of something bigger than himself. Over the years he has sat with friends at our dinner table and has learned that no one should ever eat alone, especially during holidays. Our family motto is there will always be enough to share.
 
When Macallen works alongside me I’m not sure he fully understands how his sweet little hands are helping people in need in our community. What he does understand very well for his age is our role in the food chain: that there are people in our community—I refer to them as earthbound angels—who are meant to be helpers for others who need a hand up, not a handout. 

Once again, Morningstar Relief Mission's Mobile Community Meal Program is growing. Effective October 14, Morningstar will serve residents of Northbrook and surrounding region.

"We are grateful to Land O' Lakes Community Services for partnering with us," says Kevin Alkenbrack, Executive Director, Morningstar, "We have always known that our rural communities are under-served and that there is a need to provide healthy, nutritious meals for people outside of Greater Napanee."

Alkenbrack says Morningstar's widespread response has been made possible by emergency funding that has enabled the Napanee-based community kitchen to shift to a takeout and delivery model now serving Lennox & Addington County.

"We have two locations for pick-up in Napanee, and locations in Deseronto, Tamworth, Bath and, now, Northbrook. Plus we have volunteer drivers delivering meals six days a week across Greater Napanee and Deseronto."  

Prior to the pandemic Morningstar was serving app. 250 meals per week at the Water Street location in Napanee. Today, they are serving more than 1,000 meals per week and that number continues to grow. 

"We are so grateful to all of our partners and volunteers," says Alkenbrack, "Our community has really come together in this crisis. I have heard from many clients who say these meals are 'keeping them healthy' and 'saving their lives.'"