{"id":2248,"date":"2024-09-23T19:43:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T19:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/pranorth\/?p=2248"},"modified":"2025-09-05T19:53:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:53:17","slug":"feeding-the-frontlines-salvation-army-serves-over-10000-meals-during-alberta-wildfire-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salvationarmy.ca\/pranorth\/2024\/09\/feeding-the-frontlines-salvation-army-serves-over-10000-meals-during-alberta-wildfire-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeding the Frontlines: Salvation Army Serves Over 10,000 Meals During Alberta Wildfire Response"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After 42 days, The Salvation Army\u2019s Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) has wrapped up its latest Alberta wildfire response in Jasper and Hinton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the six-week operation, EDS served meals to evacuees, firefighters, RCMP officers, and other first responders involved in the wildfire response. In total, 10,871 meals, 11,593 drinks, and 15,416 snacks were served over a combined 2,868 hours worked by EDS team members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur team has been excellent. They\u2019ve gone over and above,\u201d Major Ben Lippers, Divisional Director of Emergency Disaster Services for the Prairies and Northern Territories Division, said. \u201cThey\u2019re running around the clock. I love the team that I have, and we\u2019ll continue doing the best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deployment Timeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EDS was first deployed to High Level, AB, on July 23 to feed 600 wildfire evacuees from three communities from the Little Red River Cree Nation (Fox Lake, Jean d\u2019Or Prairie, and Garden River).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, July 24, a second EDS team arrived in Hinton, AB, approximately one hour from the Jasper townsite, and began serving three meals a day to 200-350 RCMP members assisting with the wildfire response inside Jasper National Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After six days in High Level, EDS\u2019s services were no longer required. However, while driving home, the team received a request to reroute directly to the Jasper townsite 13 hours away (due to road closures caused by fires). They arrived in Jasper during the early hours of July 29, took a brief rest, and then began preparing breakfast for over 550 firefighters and other first responders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unexpected request came with some challenges, but the team adapted quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s taken us a little time to get all the products that we like to have on-site because we were coming out empty from (High Level),\u201d Major Lippers said while in Jasper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were going into the corner stores (for groceries) \u2026we made do until we could get everything we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, a new EDS team from Manitoba arrived to relieve the first team in Jasper. Meanwhile, in Hinton, EDS wrapped up their operation and headed home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Aug 4, the crew in Jasper exited the town for safety concerns related to smoke and moved its operation to Hinton\u2019s Alliance Church parking lot. From there, they were no longer feeding firefighters and instead were asked to feed evacuees in Hinton and Edson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EDS continued feeding evacuees until Sept 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boots on the ground<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The deployment\u2019s success was made possible by the dedication of the EDS team and volunteers. They came from all over the prairies and put their lives on hold for two weeks at a time to work grueling hours in the heat for a cause bigger than themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s the passion of helping someone. It\u2019s my ministry,\u201d EDS Incident Commander Debbie Clarke said. \u201cIt gives me the drive that I need just to, and I get emotional when I think of it, just to know that we\u2019ve done something for someone, just to make their life a little bit better, you know? Just shed that tiny bit of light in a very dark situation. Sometimes it gives you the strength to go on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Feeding hundreds of people all day isn\u2019t just a physical grind\u2014the environment can also take an emotional toll on EDS team members. In addition to providing meals, they\u2019re also on the scene to provide emotional and spiritual care when asked, and many of the people they\u2019re helping have just experienced something traumatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always tell people\u2026It\u2019s about the ministry of presence,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cSo, you need to be present when somebody is talking to you. Listen to what they\u2019re saying, listen to what they\u2019re not saying, and what their body languages may be saying. You\u2019re not going to fix everything, but you can probably just give a little bit of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s on the EDS menu?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Because EDS was feeding first responders who work hard for long hours every day, they prioritized cooking hearty meals that kept them full for long periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, breakfast was served at 7 a.m., supper at 7 p.m., and bagged lunches were prepared so the firefighters didn\u2019t need to come back into Jasper for a lunch break. Meals included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breakfast<\/h3>\n\n\n\n