Meal Delivery Makes a Difference in Port Hope and Cobourg

For three years now Salvation Army staff and mission partners with the Community Mobile Outreach Program in Port Hope and Cobourg can be found bringing healthy meals to anyone in need in both communities.

“We provide hot home cooked meals for people who are homeless, don’t have the means to cook, those who are precariously housed, are unsafe, or have a place to live, but don’t have any cooking facilities,” says Lisa Graham, Manager of The Salvation Army’s Community and Family Services Port Hope office.

Approximately 200 meals are cooked, prepared and delivered each week by Salvation Army staff and volunteers, providing a meal and an opportunity to listen.

“We’re coming to their homes, and they are inviting us in. It gives us a chance to have a conversation with them and get to know them. It’s not just a case of, here’s dinner and we’re gone,” Lisa says.

“It’s a privilege that these people have opened up their homes and their hearts to us and welcomed us in. We don’t get turned away, they see The Salvation Army and they’re really excited knowing that were there for them.”

In conversation, mission partners with the Mobile Outreach Program might discover that a client needs a new bed, work clothes, bus fare or help paying rent. For one long-time volunteer, Pauline Walker, supporting The Salvation Army is an opportunity to serve.

“I decided to volunteer because my calling from the Lord is service. And so, this is a good way to follow your calling. I don’t believe that you should waste the calling the Lord is giving you,” Pauline says.