The Acadia Food Pantry Annual Report, 2022
The Acadia Food Pantry began functioning as a community driven free food distribution system in April 2019 in response to the rising need of food insecurity experienced by many residents of Acadia and nearby communities. A proposal was brought to the Acadia Network and Action Group (ANAG) who agreed to support the development of a food pantry distribution site at McDougall United Church on the third Tuesday of each month.
In 2022, the pantry operated with the support of many local groups. The lead of the pantry is a volunteer from Christ Moravian Church who works with three other lead volunteers and The City of Calgary Community Social Worker as an organizing group. This group meets from time to time to plan and make decisions about the direction of the pantry.
In 2022, the pantry had a total of 36 volunteers who are affiliated with Christ Moravian, Lutheran Church of our Saviour, McDougall United, Fish Creek United and the Rotary Club, as well as volunteers who are residents from the local community. Volunteers with vehicles to pick up and deliver food are still needed, as well as volunteers capable of doing some heavy lifting.
As the number of volunteers increased, the pantry began delivery to individuals and families living within our delivery zone and unable to attend in person. The CUPS workers from Acadia Place and Claire Building in Kingsland deliver an average of six hampers to clients in their respective housing complexes.
In 2022, the pantry served an average of 53 households per month compared to last year’s average of 36. The average number of people who benefited from hampers each month in 2022 was 167, with almost half of them being children.
McDougall United provides free space for food storage and distribution as well as acting as a financial agent for the pantry. Christ Moravian uses its charitable status to apply for grants. Members of both churches have made significant financial contributions to the pantry. Lutheran Church of Our Savior has provided gift certificates. Contributions have also been received from community members.
While the pantry utilizes food rescue programs and food donations from churches, most of the food is purchased thanks to cash donations and grants. Over the last three years, the Rotary Club has made a few donations and the pantry received two grants from Second Harvest thanks to special COVID funding, $10,000 in 2020 and $18,500 in 2022. These extra funds allowed the pantry to supplement the purchase of non-perishable items as well as provide fresh items such as produce, ground beef, milk and eggs. The grants were also used to give gift certificates to patrons so that they could buy items normally not provided in hampers. In addition, grant funds were used to purchased bins and carts for storing and moving items The Acadia Community Garden & Arts Society donated a fridge and freezer to store food for longer periods of time.
With the elimination of COVID grants, the pantry will no longer be able to provide the same level of service to its patrons, most of whom live in Acadia and surrounding communities. In an effort to develop more sustainable funding, the pantry will operate a fundraising campaign on its anniversary in April of each year with an emphasis on enlisting recurring monthly donations in addition to one time donations. In April of 2022, eight donors were secured to provide monthly donations of $25 - $50. It is hoped that more recurring donors will be added during the April 2023 campaign. McDougall United provides annual tax receipts for donations.
The organizers of the Acadia Food Pantry would like to thank all of its volunteers and donors. Without your help, the pantry would not be able to provide nutritious food to our neighbours in need.
To learn more about Acadia Pantry, please visit their webpage.