The last time Steve Shaw had an Easter meal with his family was about six years ago.

“It was a lot of fighting, arguing …” he said, sitting down to eat in a packed hall at Good Shepherd Centre on Queen St. E. on Sunday afternoon.

There was no fighting this Easter; as volunteers at the downtown shelter handed out hundreds of meals to the homeless and others in need, some tables rang with laughter, others carried quiet conversation and at a few, people simply ate in silence.

Shaw, who has been coming to Good Shepherd for about 20 years, says the place is a “safe haven.”

“And seeing everybody eating and no fighting and no arguing … you know somebody died for peace.”

Good Shepherd’s volunteers served 1,600 hot turkey meals on Sunday, each complete with stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, mixed vegetables and a slice of pie for dessert, the shelter said in a news release.

On their way out, people got a Lindt chocolate bunny and Cadbury chocolates.

“The meal is great,” said Wayne Garland, who said he can’t afford to get a full holiday meal anywhere else.

Another man, named Joe, who did not give his last name because his family does no know he comes to the shelter, said his last Easter meal with family was three years ago.

“I miss that,” he said. “I pray for it.”

Sixty volunteers helped prepare the meal on Sunday.

One, Maria Cappadocia, dressed as the Easter bunny, complete with light-up bunny ears, lamb slippers and two stuffed rabbit toys in her pockets.

Cappadocia, who said she makes her own costumes, said she has been dressing up for the holidays for the past 16 years. “I do it to give back, be animated, be happy … make them feel wanted,” she said.

“I can take the time out to give to somebody who needs it more than myself.”

And apart from smiles, she said she also likes all the “cute, funny bunny jokes.”

Easter at Good Shepherd, by the numbers:

• 150 large turkeys — about 1,020 kilograms, total

• 318 kilograms of stuffing

• 95 litres of gravy

• 227 kilograms of mixed vegetables

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• 680 kilograms of potatoes

• 1,600 portions of butter and 1,600 creamers

• 150 dozen rolls

• 250 pies

• 1,600 chocolate treats