The Drop-In Centre

Community Support

The Calgary Food Bank provides food support to several different charities throughout the city. This allows qualified organizations to better serve their food-insecure population, and save on operational costs all while ensuring that their clients are being fed nutritious food. One of the organizations we partner with for this purpose is the Drop-In Centre (DI).

The Drop-In Centre provides emergency shelter to those experiencing houselessness and ensures everyone in their care receives a nutritious meal. This is no small task considering that they provide 3 meals a day, serving up to 1,000 clients at each one. Last year, they gave out over 650,000 meals, and this year they are on track to serve even more.  

Serving that many people a day is no easy feat, but Patrick Newman, Manager of the Free Goods Program at the DI, is up to the task. Patrick has oversight of all the kitchen operations, meaning he plans out the food that the DI receives into snacks and meals, ensuring all food donations are used effectively.

“In the time that I’ve worked with the Calgary Food Bank we’ve built a pretty good relationship, [they assist] in identifying what we at the shelter can use,” says Patrick, “I’ve met with some of the staff about what our unique needs are, what the food bank receives and how we can best serve the folks that access our services.” 

“We can receive any of those items that maybe they have an excess amount of. We kind of reciprocate that, say we have a lot of one item that we can’t fully use… we’ll reach out to the food bank and ask them if they can use it.”

Making hundreds of meals a day from donated food requires some on-the-fly thinking. Patrick says that menus quite often need to be shifted around to use a new donation before it goes bad.

The one thing that doesn’t shift is the intention behind the meals. A lot of care goes into making sure that the meals are nutritious for the body and the soul.

“We want to ensure that people are given dignity. You know, it isn’t just like we’ll give them whatever we have. We want to make sure we’re preparing it professionally.” 

Food is one of the most basic human needs, and if that need isn’t met it can be very difficult to focus on anything else. Nutritious food is needed to thrive and take the next step in one’s life, such as filling out forms to apply for affordable housing. A meal can mean a lot to someone in crisis and is often the first of many steps to making positive change.

“Just imagine what it would be like to have to try and look for housing or to have to go to work on an empty stomach. It’s nothing I would want anyone to ever have to go through. To be able to provide that need to people is very important.”

The DI also provides for its clients outside of meeting their immediate needs for things like shelter and food. They connect people with healthcare, addiction services and affordable housing. Another part of Patrick’s role centers around connecting people with free household items and furniture donated to the shelter. This ensures they will have everything they need to be successful when they do obtain housing.

“We want to make sure that those are available to them so that it’s not something that they’ll have to worry about. Moving is expensive and stressful enough as it is.”

While the goal is always to help people build a future where they can thrive independently, Patrick says that the DI is a place that will always be there for those needing shelter or a hot meal. It’s a key part of the community and a safety net for people who don’t have anywhere else to go.

“It’s not just about us, it’s about building community within the city.”