A resident of Kelowna's Rail Trail encampment is given a a warm cup of tea by Kelowna Gospel Mission outreach workers during -20 degree weather.

(GEORGINA WHITEHOUSE / iNFOnews.ca)

Kelowna’s Gospel Mission, a non-profit homeless charity, struggled to keep up with a dramatic increase in demand at the tent city along the Okanagan Rail Trail last year.

Inflation, rising food costs, growing numbers of unhoused people and a drop in donations meant the organization had to make a decision it didn’t want to have to make.

The gospel mission had been serving three meals a day 365 days a year to homeless residents living in the tent city on the Okanagan Rail Trail in Kelowna.

In 2023, that was cut to just two meals.

“The reason why we had to stop our dinner service was simply because we didn't have enough money,” executive director Carmen Rempel told iNFOnews.ca.

“So, we've gone from feeding 60 people three meals a day to trying to serve hundreds of people, three times a day.”

READ MORE: 'Just normal people like everybody else': The reality of homelessness in Kelowna's tent city

Rempel said rather than capping the number of meals and serving on a first come first serve basis, they decided to make sure all the residents were fed twice a day.

However this year the tables have turned.

Rempel said the gospel mission has been celebrating since it received two major donations that will keep all of those sleeping on the street fed for the next year.

“We have enough money now to bring dinner back for a year,” she said. “We've got about 12 months of funding, which is phenomenal.”

One donation came from a family who gave $120,000. The other was from a group and amounted to around $135,000. Both donors have chosen to remain anonymous, Rempel said.

The mission is now serving at least 90 people breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.

READ MORE: Tiny homes for Kelowna's homeless community welcomes first residents

Each meal per person comes in at a minimum cost of $3.50.

As an estimate, the mission is spending $945 a day or more just to feed the unhoused community living on the rail trail or elsewhere on the streets. But the number of mouths that need feeding is increasing every year.

“(There is) exponential growth,” Rempel said. “Back in the fall we were talking about the growth of the rail trail and we were talking about a 100 person year-over-year increase.”

Now, with the warmer weather, the organization is expecting even more people to join Kelowna’s tent city. Kelowna's Gospel Mission’s shelters are also at full capacity, with 126 beds accounted for.

Fortunately, Rempel says the organization has found ways to stretch its pennies and make each food donation count.

READ MORE: 'Inhumane': Dangerous cold required before Interior emergency homeless shelters open

“We've got almost 50 years of experience making a dollar stretch really far.”

The mission collects day-old bread and other baked goods each day to turn into French toast, sandwiches and other comforting meals.

Rempel said there is also a heavy focus on nutrition as many unhoused people survive off a diet of cheap, sugary, high-carb snacks.

“We've been working really hard at increasing the nutritional value of our meals. So more vegetables, more fibre," she said. "Like they made macaroni and cheese, but the cheese sauce was mostly butternut squash.”

Donations for the organization took a hit after COVID-19, but Rempel says they are on their way back up again.

“The interesting thing is that we actually have fewer donors but the donors we have are giving bigger sums,” she said.

For now, the mission is pushing for more consistent monthly donations to make sure that the unhoused community remains fed after it’s major donations have run out.

More information on the organization and how to donate can be found here.

— This story was updated at 2:50 p.m. Monday, March 18, 2024, to clarify Kelowna's Gospel Mission is currently financially stable.

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