Every year Siloam Mission in Winnipeg serves hot meals on the Thanksgiving. This year, the charitable organization served a record-breaking 1,125 people.

Thanksgiving is one of their busiest days of the year, but the mission serves as a beacon of hope year-round. For many in the area, it's a place to take refuge and get a warm meal.

“We're open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, serving 1,200 meals every day,” said Floyd Perras, executive director.

It's not just the homeless who enjoy the free Thanksgiving meal at Siloam Mission. For many families and people on fixed incomes, this is the nicest meal they'll have for a long time.

“I'm on a pension, I shouldn't be here, but I live at the Mount Royal, so I sometimes run out of money,” said Edward Kuzyk. “It's a free dinner.”

After a lifetime of work, Kuzyk never imagined he'd end up here in retirement. “I started at 17, moved into the city in '62, worked all the way. I started with Eaton's and we used to work for $40 a week.”

"People are starting to rely on programs that provide them with a meal just because they can't stretch a pension or social assistance or even part-time wages to cover all their needs," said Marianne Cerilli of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.

Henry and Ben are best friends, both on fixed incomes. Right now, Ben is trying to find a new place to live.

"I've got one room and a bed and a fridge, that's it, and we have to share the kitchen and the bathroom," he said.

"He only gets about a couple hundred dollars a month income, so how much can he afford to pay?" said Henry.

A number of families with young children also took advantage of the dinner at Siloam Mission.

"There's a lot of people that have come through shelters and into their own housing, but living on social assistance, they cannot afford a Thanksgiving meal,” said Perras. “There's lots of families that are living paycheck to paycheck out there."

Thanks to the kindness of volunteers and generous donations, today there is enough to eat. For most of these people, however, the struggle will continue tomorrow.

Around 100 volunteers helped make the meal possible. They were in charge of preparing, cooking and serving meals. Many are helping for the first time, saying today was time well spent.

"I think it's a very good cause,” said Larry Stevenson. “There's a lot of people that need food. There's a lot of poor people around, and I, myself, I believe in helping at home."

- With a report by Ben Miljure