Many hands feed many mouths at Siloam Mission

Volunteers
By: AV Kitching Posted: 6:00 AM CDT Monday, Jun. 22, 2026

It takes many willing hands to prepare the quantities of food required to serve community members accessing Siloam Mission’s meal services.

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It takes many willing hands to prepare the quantities of food required to serve community members accessing Siloam Mission’s meal services.

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It takes many willing hands to prepare the quantities of food required to serve community members accessing Siloam Mission’s meal services.

One of these hands belong to Kishwar Mirza, a recently retired nurse who has been volunteering every Tuesday morning for the 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. breakfast shift in Siloam’s kitchen.

Led by Siloam Mission’s kitchen staff, Mirza and the volunteer crew — who number between 12 to 16 — prep 700 pieces of toast, 576 eggs, 150 pounds of fruit, 120 litres of soup and 80 pounds of meat daily for the approximately 600 people who turn up for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Princess Street drop-in.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS
Siloam Mission volunteer and recently retired nurse Kishwar Mirza helps to serve breakfast at the Siloam Mission drop-in centre.

Breakfast is served from 9 to 10 a.m., plated up assembly-line style as community members queue to receive their food through the service window.

There is no limit to the number of times people can receive food within the hour; they just have to join the queue again if they want more to eat.

Mirza’s job is to cut fruit and vegetables, serve food and clean up in time for the batch of 12 to 16 volunteers coming in for their 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift to make sure lunch is ready for the noon to 1 p.m. service.

Dinner, served from 6 to 7 p.m., is prepped by eight volunteers working the 5:15-7:15 p.m. shift.

In its 2024/25 annual report, the non-profit records serving 551,757 meals and 15,234 bagged lunches, and handing out 18,233 sandwiches at the door.

The kitchen uses between 150 to 220 loaves a day to make sandwiches and toast.

“There’s always someone making toast. You won’t believe how much time it takes to make it. There’s two people doing it — one person puts around five pieces of bread into the griddle and when the toast is ready another person takes it out and passes it to someone else who butters it,” Mirza says.

It’s not Mirza’s first time at Siloam Mission — earlier on in her nursing career she had volunteered in the charity’s health centre.

“Many years ago I volunteered at the medical clinic for about a year. I had to stop because I was working full-time and things got too busy. Because I am retired, I don’t have my nursing licence anymore, so I can’t volunteer there. But I love working in the kitchen; everyone here is extremely pleasant and happy to have help,” she says.

Around 70 per cent of what the kitchen serves is made with donated items. The remaining 30 per cent — especially fresh meat — is bought. Menus, based on what has been donated, are planned a week in advance by the head chef.

Right now Siloam’s kitchen urgently needs donations of coffee beans, bacon, sausages, margarine, peanut butter and jam, cereal and granola bars.

“We also need 300-plus bottles of water per day when temperatures are around 25 degress Celcius and 400-500 bottles of water per day when temperatures are around 30 degrees celcius,” volunteer services co-ordinator Mark McAvoy says.

The charity relies on food donations so it can continue to serve nourishing meals to community members who have fallen on hard times.

They also need more volunteers across many departments, es`pecially during the summer months, McAvoy says.

Volunteers serve hundreds of people who visit the drop-in space daily, where they can pick up donated clothing, access phones and avail themselves of the different programs on offer. The drop-in is also a safe, judgment-free space where, supported by Siloam staff, community members are welcome to gather.

“All of our volunteers are equally important and appreciated. Our kitchen, on a daily basis, requires the “correct number” of volunteers, but our drop-in centre, our clothing department, our health centre — none of them would run without the support of our amazing volunteers,” McAvoy says.

To become a volunteer at Siloam Mission, email volunteer@siloam.ca or visit siloam.ca where you will also find the charity’s urgent needs list under the Take Action (siloam.ca/action/donate-goods/) section towards the top of the page.

If you know a special volunteer, please contact AV.Kitching@freepress.mb.ca

AV Kitching
Reporter

AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV.

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Volunteer for Super-Spike, Western Canada’s largest outdoor volleyball tournament on July 17 & 18 at Maple Grove Rugby Park. A variety of roles are available, from tournament administration and bartenders and bar backs, to front gate, setup/tear down and more. It’s a great way to meet new people, help raise money for charities and get free access to the event once the shifts are over. Apply online: superspike.ca/volunteer. Deadline is July 1.

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The Canadian Red Cross needs volunteers. The Red Cross can show you how to help when disaster strikes. Apply at wfp.to/0pE, volunteer@redcross.ca or 1-844-818-2155.

AV Kitching
Reporter