Marla Somersall has been the director of the Samaritan House for the last nine years, and thinks the Food First food drive is more important now than it has ever been before due to increased demand, and limited supplies.
“Last year we were sending out around 1,000 food hampers every month,” said Somersall.
“And this year it hasn’t changed. With the price of food going up, donations of $50 of food are much less now. Increased demand and decreased supply are making it hard for us to be able to fill enough hampers for people who need it.”
Food First is an annual city-wide food drive run through the Westman Journal with help of several local businesses. This week, plastic bags will be distributed in the Journal for people to fill with food and set outside. Volunteers will pick up all the food bags on the morning of May 26, and the food will all go to the Samaritan House to help them continue operation until the Christmas season. Food First has been averaging 10,000 pounds of food to the Samaritan House each year, setting a record last year of more than 11,000 pounds, which was especially surprising due to the flooding problems at that time.
The Samaritan House, located at 630 Rosser Avenue, works to supply those in need with food, skills, and supplies for daily life. People can come in and receive a food hamper once every two weeks, and are required to volunteer time preparing hampers in exchange for the service.
“We send out about 20,000 pounds of food every month,” said Somersall.
“We also get donations of hygiene and baby products that we give out as they are needed. People don’t need to wait the two weeks if they need diapers or toothpaste like they have to for food hampers.”
The Samaritan House also offers specialized products for people suffering from illness or disease such as diabetes, but they are always low on protein items, such as canned meats or fish.
Somersall says that they usually run low on food during this time of year, which is where Food First comes in, collecting donations across the city to help keep the hampers filled until heavier donation months closer to Christmas.
But food isn’t the only thing Samaritan House supplies.
“We do get a lot of donations of clothing and household items,” said Somersall.
“So we let people sort through the clothing and take what they need, while we donate the rest to the Canadian Diabetes Association. We also prepare a basic living package, including dishes, pots and pans, and blankets, for people who may have lost everything in a fire, or just left an abusive relationship and have nothing.


 They can come in and tell us what they need and we do our best to give them enough to get back on their feet.”
As well as donations, the Samaritan House also offers education, following the mantra that if you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he will never go hungry again.
“We offer training courses for adult literacy,” said Somersall.
“We teach kindergarten to grade 10 literacy, and then help people make the transition into the adult collegiate. We also help people with basic concepts most people take for granted, like making proper change or understanding prescriptions.”
The training courses are designed to help people move into further education, or even employment, teaching skills necessary for trades like carpentry. The Samaritan House also partners with Assiniboine Community College to build computers from donated parts that people can take on a long-term loan while pursuing further education.
“We have classroom space for about 23 people at once,” said Somersall.
“And we have a 17 computer lab that offers courses twice a week, so ideally 34 people could come through every week.”
Another program offered is the Asset Building Program, which works in cooperation with SEEDS Winnipeg to teach people about money management. People in the 10-week course are required to set a future purchase as a goal, worth as little as $5, and then save up on quarter of the total price. If they successfully raise their share, the program will cover the other three quarters of the goal.
“We started all the courses we offer when we started to notice the number of people coming in increasing dramatically,” said Somersall.
“So we said we need to find a way to get people back into employment so they don’t need our services anymore.”
With so much being offered by the Samaritan House, they understandably have troubles keeping supplies and volunteers at the level they are needed. That’s why they need the public’s help, whether it be through individual donations, volunteer time, or through one of the many food drives around the city like Food First.
Anyone interested in donating time or supplies are welcome and encouraged to stop by The Samaritan House at 630 Rosser Avenue.