'Pay-what-you-can" lunch offers Thanksgiving meal in West Broadway

A Winnipeg taproom is keeping a Thanksgiving tradition going in order to bring the West Broadway community together.

It was the second annual "pay-what-you-can" Thanksgiving lunch hosted at One Sixteen, 116 Sherbrook Street.

A potluck-style meal was served to people--- for whatever price they could afford to pay.

"Really we're just trying to welcome in folks of all walks of life who otherwise can't afford or may not be able to afford a meal," said Morgan Wielgosz, brewmaster at the Good Neighbour Brewing Company and partner at One Sixteen.

The event was first held in 2021 at The Beer Can, an outdoor beer garden located at the Granite Curling Club. That venue closed early this year, but Wielgosz said many businesses stepped up to make the Thanksgiving lunch happen again.

"We've garnered a lot of donations," she said. "Businesses like Tallest Poppy, Harrison Coffee, Tall Grass Prairie, Cisco, Two Hands, Good Neighbour Brewing Company, and a few others donated or contributed toward the cause."

In addition to the "pay-what-you-can" format, patrons could also buy lunch with a $20 donation to Resource Assistance for Youth. Wielgosz saidfolks in the neighbourhood need help now more than ever.

"It’s a harsh reality, especially given the past few years of the unpredictability and everyone going through what they have been … I think at the end of the day we all need to support each other, to bring each other up, and take care of each other."