Siloam Mission serves 500 Easter lunches and faces questions about media access

About 500 turkey dinners were served at Siloam Mission's annual Easter lunch, and a reported email from the CEO initially restricted media presence; the board chair later allowed reporters to attend.

Siloam Mission served about 500 plates of turkey at its annual Easter lunch. The event went on despite an initial decision that limited media access after recent internal coverage. That restriction was reported in an email attributed to CEO Sonia Prevost-Derbecker, which CBC News did not independently verify. The board chair later welcomed reporters and said the intent was to keep the event low-key rather than to bar media. Key details: - About 500 plates of turkey dinner were served at the annual Easter lunch. - The Winnipeg Free Press reported an email from CEO Sonia Prevost-Derbecker instructing staff to be "media silent" and saying no media would be allowed without approval. - CBC News has not independently verified the email attributed to the CEO. - Board chair Tracey Silagy allowed a CBC crew into the meal and said media are always welcome and the event was meant to be low-key. - The Easter meal is one of three holiday meals the shelter offers, alongside Christmas and Thanksgiving, and organizers say attendance now includes more seniors, newcomers and working people. - Leftover food from Thursday's meal will be turned into other meals, such as soups, to help feed people in the coming days. Summary: The shelter served a large community meal while questions arose about how media access was handled. Reports of an instruction to be "media silent" drew attention, and the board chair's clarification allowed reporters at the event. Undetermined at this time.