Nova Scotia woman's matchmaking service pairs turkey with needy families

Angela Gardiner knows the struggle of barely making ends meet as a single mom during the holidays while other families pile presents under the tree and heap turkey dinner on plates.

Now that her circumstances have changed for the better, the Nova Scotia woman can think of no greater gift than filling the bellies of strangers who need a good meal this Christmas.

Now that my situation has changed, this is a pay-it-forward thing for me.- Angela Gardiner

"There were always people there to help me, and to provide food and gifts for my kids at Christmastime when it was a bit more difficult," the Lyons Brook, Pictou County, woman told CBC's Maritime Noon.

"Now that my situation has changed, this is a pay-it-forward thing for me." 

Gardiner is matching people who would like a turkey dinner with Good Samaritans willing to provide the ingredients for a feast.

The goodwill brought one woman to tears after what Gardiner said was a very difficult year. 

"Just to be able to look her in the eye and smile and give her a hug, and for her to say, 'You don't know how much this means to me,'" was a gift in itself, said Gardiner.

The gesture started after Gardiner posted a message on Facebook saying she wanted to provide a turkey dinner to a family who couldn't afford one.

She got a huge response, not just from people nominating families for a dinner, but from people wanting to buy and deliver the ingredients.

Gardiner has matched almost 50 recipients with donors and more requests keep coming in. She alone fed three families this year. 

"I've had different people say that they have to choose either between turkey dinner or a gift for their kid, so now they don't have to make that choice,"she said.    

She believes the donations took off because people enjoy dropping off the box of ingredients and meeting the people they help face-to-face.

There are lots of people struggling to get by day-to-day and working just to put food on the table, said Gardiner.

The flip side is there are many generous people who want to help those in need and are looking for the opportunity to do so.

In fact, people who donated dinners this year are already making plans to do the same in 2017.

"I've had other people say because they've had some really tough times, they were really discouraged," said Gardiner. "This has encouraged them that there is still goodness in the world."