For many agencies in Calgary, food is a critical component of client support. But allocating resources to purchase food or source food donations is costly and time consuming, taking away from addressing the root causes of food insecurity. For 239 agency programs, the Calgary Food Bank’s Food Link program is their place to collect quality food and supplies.
Calgary is a city of a million-plus people with an expanse of quadrants and communities. And within every neighborhood, there is someone in need. In an effort to create a hunger-free community, we must ensure that Food Hampers are accessible for families and individuals in various neighborhoods.
May is Mental Health Awareness month and the Canadian Mental Health Association recognizes May 6-12 as Mental Health Week. With this topic being top-of-mind, we want to explore the link between mental health and food insecurity.
The face of hunger can be anyone: our friends, our neighbours, our family. Anyone, from any background, and in every neighbourhood. All sizes of households: wage earners, EI recipients, students and veterans. We know it is important to build a picture of who is coming to the food bank as it alerts us to changes in the community.
For many charities in Calgary, food is a critical component of providing client support. But purchasing food or sourcing food donations is costly and time consuming, ultimately taking precious resources away from addressing the root causes of food insecurity. Wood’s Homes is one of the many organizations that we work with and the impact of the Food Link Program is invaluable to their organization.