The Grocery Run

Findings from Vital Signs, an Edmonton Social Planning Council Report tracking food insecurity in Edmonton from 2013 to 2023 shows us that:

• Hunger affects one in five Albertans and is increasing.
• In 2011, 12.3% of Albertans experienced food insecurity
• In 2022, the number rose to 20.3%

Food insecurity is racialized, culturally connected, and disproportionately affects Indigenous black, immigrant and vulnerable populations.

Regardless of circumstances, each of us has a right to feed ourselves with dignity.

Without adequate food, health and wellness is compromised. For pregnant women and children, the consequences are significant, creating ongoing and compounding physical and mental health issues.

Started in 2016, The Grocery Run provides weekly food hampers to more than 113 immigrant and refugee families and seniors – 376 individuals – experiencing chronic poverty and hunger in Edmonton. Comprised primarily of fresh, nutritious and culturally appropriate fruit, vegetables and pantry staples, the hampers combine rescued, donated and procured food.

Grocery Run recipients live in poverty.

• 62% spend more than half their income on housing
• 68% can’t afford balanced, nutritious meals
• 48% are children and youth (0-18 yrs)
• 37% are adults (19-64 yrs)
• 15% are seniors (65+ yrs)

Those supported seek fresh and relevant foods to incorporate in cultural dishes rather than canned and processed foods. Responsive to needs, the Grocery Run provides familiar and nutritious staples such as lentils, oils, peanut butter, rice, chickpeas, and kidney beans, as well as fresh vegetables and fruits.

Donated food comprises 50% or more of hamper content. Strong relationships with food producers and local businesses allow the affordable purchase and provision of nutritious and culturally preferred fresh produce.

• Hampers are delivered by community volunteers.
• Contents reflect rescued, donated and economically purchased foods.
• Efforts are optimized through partnerships with the Edmonton Food Bank, the Leftovers Foundation – YEG, Prairie Urban Farm, local gardeners and others.
• Overhead is low; the commitment of volunteers high.
• The Grocery Run operates as an employment gateway helping people hone skills, gain experience, develop language, increase confidence, and expand connections.
• Providing food builds trust and opens doors helping Health Brokers introduce other essential services and supports for settlement, advancement, and self-sufficiency.

• Large, multigenerational families with many children and a variety of chronic conditions, mobility issues, mental and physical health needs, and traumatic stress disorders.
• Immigrants, refugees and newcomers dealing with accommodation, language, climate, culture, settlement, and employment issues.
• Minimum wage workers with low hours, no benefits, on income support, and often with income hobbled together.
• People repaying pre-migration loans and sending precious funds to extended family back home.
• Individuals with high rent to income ratios – where +70% of income goes to rent, then utilities, then expenses, and last to food. Children eat first; adults go without.
• Men, women and children living with the unrelenting and exhausting stress of hunger and not enough healthy food.