Happy New Year

The Annual Report for the 2020-2021 Calgary Food Bank Fiscal Year is packed with valuable information about how we fought hunger and addressed root cause throughout the last fiscal year. We encourage you to find some time to read about the successes and challenges we experienced. We bring you a variety of interesting stories of how we made a difference. In the words of CEO James McAra, “It’s not about the increase (in demand), but about the impact we have made and how we changed lives for the better.”   

While there is no doubt that the Calgary Food Bank continues to share food with more people than ever before, the challenge often seems impossible. Thankfully acts of kindness from a deeply committed group of staff, volunteers, and donors, are the acts that change lives for the better. Once again, facing the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, we have done what is necessary to safely gather, sort, and distribute millions of kilograms of food that becomes millions of meals for individuals, families, agency partners and other food banks.  

Last year saw many changes. We have expanded to safely feed more people with more food. We increased our conversations with people to ensure we were doing the right work in the right places. We adapted and adapted again so that people and communities were respected and supported where they live.   

As we relieve hunger for hundreds today, we move towards the future. We continue to use our data to inform and navigate our decisions. We take feedback, learnings, and the latest information from clients and our industry. We engage our stakeholders and collaborate with like-minded organizations to combat poverty, advocate for policy change, and address root causes. It takes time to make meaningful and systemic impacts as we continue to supply real-time data and testimony on the effects of food insecurity to those change-makers. Our board chair, Amy Leong, explains, “You cannot get anywhere if you do not have a plan, so we continue to refine the strategic roadmap to provide direction to our teams and community alike. As we look to the future and embark on our 40th year of food bank operations, we will continue to vision a hunger-free community while listening to and collaborating with leaders in the hope that we do not have to see another 40th anniversary.” Click here to learn more.