Every Wednesday this group of men volunteers at the Prince Albert Salvation Army's Warming Centre, cooking a meal for the city's homeless population. (Image Credit: Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Plates of Hope 2026

Second Plates of Hope fundraiser has lofty goal to feed city’s homeless  

Feb 4, 2026 | 1:47 PM

Volunteers at Prince Albert’s Salvation Army take their job of feeding the city’s unhoused population very seriously. 

Doing so requires a significant amount of food and related costs, which have increased after the organization’s building burned down recently, according to Major Ed Dean.  

“Groceries are not cheap these days and we serve 37,000 meals in a year and with 37,000 meals, you can imagine the grocery bill is a little bit higher than it is at home,” he said.  

They want to provide good meals so foods like seasoned pork loin with roasted potatoes, steamed vegetables and bread pudding with a homemade caramel sauce on it are provided. 

An example of one meal served, season pork loin, roasted potatoes, vegetables and bread pudding with caramel sauce. (Image Credit: Susan McNeil/paNOW)

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Volunteer Stephen Hug said he and a group of four other men volunteer to cook the food and serve it every Wednesday.  

“We need to help out the homeless people for sure and if we can give them a good meal and maybe that’ll change their life a little bit, that they’ll see they’ll have a better life because of that,” said Hug. “So that’s the reason we kind of do it, just to make sure that they’re well fed and hopefully have a better life in the future.”  

While volunteers are crucial for the Salvation Army to do its work, there are real costs that require money.  

In January, they spent over $7,000 in groceries and rent on their temporary building is also significant.  

Having to rent a building versus being in one they occupied for almost 40 years has increased costs as has buying items they had for years, such as pots, dishes and even seasonings.  

They hope to raise $250,000 this year but the Malcolm Jenkins Family Foundation has already offered up $50,000 as a matching donation for the rest of the fundraising. 

Last year’s event raised $65,000, which included a $25,000 donation from the Jenkins Foundation.  

This year’s Plates of Hope Fundraiser is scheduled for March 14 at Plaza 88. Tickets are about $135 and are available here.  

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com