Dozens of volunteers helped to serve food at the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen on New Year's Eve 2025. (Image Credit: Lethbridge Soup Kitchen)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge stepped up to support Soup Kitchen during surging demand in 2025

Jan 8, 2026 | 2:16 PM

The executive director of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen says he is grateful for the immense amount of support shown by the community this past year.

In 2025, the non-profit served 151,709 hot meals to those in need.

That is an increase of 15,000 meals (11 per cent) compared to 2024 and 50,000 (49 per cent) more than what they served in 2023.

Bill Ginther says the community stepped up in a big way to help serve their growing number of clients. In 2025, a total of 12,969 people volunteered at the Soup Kitchen, whether they helped out just one time or regularly.

“We, thankfully, had a really good year,” says Ginther. “That is really thanks to the general public, some churches, a lot of individuals, some companies – people that see value in what we do. They have now felt the value of giving.”

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Not only did people offer their time, but also plenty of donations.

Ginther explains that food donations are weighed and reported, and the Canada Revenue Agency told him that they received over 1.7 million pounds of food over the last 12 months.

There was enough food coming in that the Soup Kitchen was able to give some of it away to 30 other agencies in the area.

He says new facilities were the biggest reason that demand for the Soup Kitchen increased.

The Lethbridge Wellness Shelter and Stabilization Unit completed its expansion in 2025, which nearly doubled the homeless shelter’s capacity from 111 people to 200.

READ MORE: Expansion to Lethbridge homeless shelter complete

Streets Alive Mission moved into its new location across from the Soup Kitchen in November, offering a much larger space and expanded services. People are allowed to spend the day inside their new building.

“That’s caused more people to stay so they don’t have to wander around looking for a warm place. We would do that, but we just don’t have the capacity. Our role is to do meals, and as soon as one meal is done, we’re preparing the next, but Streets Alive has a large building. Not to necessarily blow their horn, but from my perspective, that has made a difference – people stay close by,” says Ginther.

The Lethbridge Soup Kitchen has undergone its own expansion as well, completing a $500,000 upgrade that added another 36 spaces and relocated its storage area.

One thing that Ginther would like people to remember is that their clientele is made up of more than just people who are homeless or who suffer from substance addiction.

He says he has seen more people seeking their services in recent years who have jobs, but because of the rising cost of living and stagnant wages, going to the Soup Kitchen is the only way they can provide hot and healthy meals for their families.

While the organization has been able to get enough food to meet demand regularly, finances continue to be a challenge.

Ginther says they have 31 staff, including two who work full-time. Employment makes up about two-thirds of the non-profit’s expenses.

Rising wages, however, are nothing compared to the Soup Kitchen’s utility bill.

“Utilities are outrageous,” says Ginther. “You think about that we have our stoves, our ovens, everything is on every day, three times a day. Lights are always on, fuel for our vehicle – we do most of our own pickups, so those are expensive.”

Ginther is asking those who are able to donate financially to consider doing so monthly. This can be set up on CanadaHelps.org.