Sun Youth holiday baskets help thousands of Montreal families

Sun Youth opened its doors for its annual holiday basket drive in Montreal this week.

As requests for food assistance continue to pour in, thousands of vulnerable families will receive support — with the help and generosity of Sun Youth employees, volunteers, donors and collaborators.

“There’s a lot of people around that need help,” said Anna Stabile whose been volunteering with Sun Youth the past five years. “Just the fact that we can help them unconditionally with no judgment makes me feel really good.”

“They’re people young and old,” added Stabile. “It’s kind of daunting to see the number of people that have recourse to food banks because they just can’t make ends meet.”

In 2022, 18 per cent of Canadian families reported experiencing food insecurity in the past 12 months, up from 16% in 2021, noted Statistics Canada.

“For humanity’s sake it’s a time of the year of hope and inspiration,” said Ernie Rosa, director of emergency services at Sun Youth. “So we’re here giving out baskets for 13 days straight to about 5,000 families.”

“I think our staff has been doing a great job, our donors have supported,” he added. “We’re giving out this year the largest baskets we’ve ever had in history.”

“And the healthiest ones too.”

The holiday drive began on Dec. 11th and will run to the 23rd.

“We stay open in the morning of the 24th,” added Rosa. “Just for emergencies so if somebody unfortunately couldn’t make their their appointment we stay open till lunchtime.”

The baskets will be given out at the organization’s location at 6700 Parc Ave.