According to the latest Food Price Report, the cost of groceries rose 10.8 per cent in Alberta last year, making it difficult for many households to gain access to affordable and high-quality goods. However, two Calgary women are tackling the growing problem of food insecurity through resilient building programs and initiatives.
That problem has been evident at the Calgary Food Bank, where as of September 2023 they were providing emergency food assistance to 700 households per day, a dramatic increase from 400 to 450 households last year.
“That increase has compounded since the start of the pandemic, but in particular, has been very problematic over the course of this last year where we’ve really seen the effects of inflation taking place,” says Melissa From, CEO of the Calgary Food Bank.
For comparison, the food bank helped approximately 350 households per day in 2019.
Currently, 31 per cent of households relying on the food bank also report having income from employment. Highlighting that even those with jobs still find it necessary to turn to the food bank for support. This indicates a gap in the system between emergency food access and a food resilient population. As inflation rises, some are looking to bridge that gap.
Nourishing hope
Heather Ramshaw, operations manager at Highfield Farm, is one Calgarian working precisely towards that goal. Highfield Farm is an innovative, inner-city agricultural development that uses regenerative farming to create nutritious, healthy produce.
“It’s not just about making sure that everybody has something on their table, but it’s about the quality of food they can get on their table,” says Ramshaw.
The organization provides food for many service agencies in the city and teaches others how to grow their own food through experiential learning. Ramshaw believes that giving others the knowledge to grow and preserve their own food in Calgary’s short growing season will strengthen the city’s food resiliency.
Filling plates, not landfills
Food insecurity, however, is complex and includes this paradox: while a growing number of people are struggling to put food on the table, food waste is also an issue.
A 2017 study by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry found that Alberta has the highest rate of food waste per capita in all of Canada. This creates financial difficulties for many, because of the imbalance between supply and demand. When food goes to the landfill, it creates methane gas, which is 25 times more powerful than CO2 which contributes heavily to environmental issues.
“With every dark cloud, there’s that silver lining.”
Melissa From, CEO of the Calgary Food Bank
Lourdes Juan founded the Leftovers Foundation to help combat this issue of food waste. The organization diverts food from landfills and redirects it to service agencies. Last year alone, Leftovers rescued over one million pounds of food from landfills.
“I just want to work on projects that make things a little bit easier for folks to get food on their table and move the needle on some of these climate change issues,” says Juan.
Since Juan started her foundation in 2012, she has launched two other food rescue programs. One is The Fresh Routes Community Mobile Market, which helps to provide healthy food options on a pay-what-you-can model.
The program started in neighbouring Indigenous communities including Tsuut’ina, Stoney Nakoda, and Siksika. Over time, the mobile market has expanded its outreach and can be found parked outside of universities and inner-city communities in Calgary and Edmonton.
Juan’s most recent project is the Knead Technologies app, which helps organizations locate food that would otherwise be wasted and get it into the hands of those who need it most. The program has rescued 2.7 million dollars worth of food since 2021.
A silver lining
From says that the most amazing thing she’s seen working in the non-profit sector is the way that Calgarians come together when others are in need.
“With every dark cloud, there’s that silver lining,” Juan says. “And seeing the way that the community pulls together has been really incredible through the last couple of years.”