Grocery Run Program

Food is basic.

Adequate and nutritious food is core to the health, wellness, development and growth of our bodies and minds. Consequently, the right to food is a human right. And yet in Edmonton, children, women and men go hungry.

“Hunger happens here” is the shocking conclusion of Vital Signs, an Edmonton Social Planning Council Report tracking food insecurity in Edmonton from 2013 to 2023.

We believe hunger should NOT be happening here.

To tackle hunger in Edmonton’s immigrant communities, the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative introduced The Grocery Run. With your help we’ll feed first, eliminate hunger, and open doors to other essential services helping with settlement, advancement and self-sufficiency.

At the heart of the program is a belief that the right to food is a basic human right.

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

According to the Vital Signs report:

Hunger affects one in five Albertans and is increasing.

  • In 2011, 12.3% experienced food insecurity
  • In 2022, the number rose to 20.3%

The working poor are affected as income isn’t keeping up with increasing costs.

  • In 2021, 51.9% of food-insecure households were amongst the working poor

Food prices rose 10.8% in 2022, were higher in 2023, and are rising further.

  • In 2013, healthy food for a year cost a family of four $10,920; in 2022, it cost $15,306

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

The reality

Those living in hunger skip meals, reduce portion sizes, limit food options to cheap and non-nutritious filler foods, can’t access food in a dignified manner, and lack choice. 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.

Feed First

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.

What Makes the Grocery Run Special

  • 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.

Who we Feed

  • 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.

Reduce Hunger in Edmonton

The Grocery Run’s greatest need is for financial, operating support. After donated items, it costs $30 to provide a food hamper to a family each week.

ADOPT a family… donate

$120 provides culturally appropriate food for a family of four for one month.

$1,560 feeds a family for a year.

Sponsor a WEEK

$3,900 means 130 families receive a week of culturally appropriate, nutritious food.

Donate to The Grocery Run

E-transfer: donation @mchb.org

Cheque: Multicultural Health Brokers Coop Ltd

NOTE: The Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative cannot issue charitable tax receipts for income tax purposes.

Other ways to help:

  • Drop off fresh/perishable foods from your garden or business on Thursday or Friday mornings at 9538 – 107 Ave, N.W., Edmonton, AB T5H 0T7 or call: 825.333.4255.
  • Customize your contribution or help us with our Wish List. Call us to discuss.
  • Volunteer. Call us to discuss.
  • Learn more: check us out at https://mchb.org/
  • Help us grow awareness. We’d love to make a presentation to your organization or host a hamper assembly exercise for your team. Call us to discuss.

Other Important information:

How to Access: All of our families and community members accessing the Grocery Run are connected to an MCHB Broker. It is positioned as a holistic & internal support we provide to ethnocultural families directly served by MCHB. We focus our capacity on supporting multi-barriered ethnocultural families.  Contact our office for more information and eligibility

Email: groceryrun@mchb.org 

For other in-kind contributions such as produce, or dried goods please contact us: Email: groceryrun@mchb.org Phone: 780-217-5449 

Please donate to our Grocery Run Program

Our Team 

The Grocery Run is operated by a strong team of more than 60 community volunteers. Each week, a team 15 to 20 volunteers assemble over 500 food hampers by processing donations, portioning and packing the food. Our volunteer delivery team then delivers directly to our families located across the city. 

Thank you to the University of Alberta Alumni Association and the Winnifred Steward Society for connecting us with so many incredible team members. 

Join us. Donate, volunteer or spread the word!

Every contribution makes a difference. Many hands make light work. 

The good people of MCHB helping package goods for the Grocery Run program.

MAKE A DONATION

For other in-kind contributions such as produce, or dried goods please contact us: 

    VOLUNTEER WITH US

      • Grocery Run Hamper Team
        • Thursdays 9:30AM-12:00PM 
        • Located at the Edmonton Intercultural Centre (9538 107 avenue) 
        • Tasks include: processing food donations and removing any mouldy or inedible food items, portioning food items, assembling food hampers, assisting with clean up i.e. breaking down boxes, sanitizing tables, sweeping floors, removing garbage.
        • Register here 
        • Grocery Run Delivery Team
          •  Thursdays OR Fridays ~2 Hours BETWEEN 11:00Am-5:00PM 
          • Delivery routes take ~2 hours to complete (1 hour of driving time, 1 hour of communication with families) 
          • We do our best to design delivery routes to begin at the EIC building and end near or in the direction of the volunteer drivers home. We try to keep delivery routes are consistent every week.
          • We ask delivery drivers to commit to a minimum of 2 months to delivery on a weekly basis on either a Thursday or Friday. This is in effort to maintain and protect the privacy and confidentiality of the families we serve and for volunteer convenience. 
          • Register here 

        SPREAD THE WORD!

        • Follow us on Instagram: MCHBGroceryRunYEG 
        • Our program relies on the support of community, please help spread the word about this work to your networks. Click on the links below to download our prepared communications assets to share on your social media platforms!    
          • Share our GoFundMe
          • Share our call for volunteer packers
          • Share our Call for volunteer drivers

        “During the lockdown and COVID 19 crisis, many people lost their jobs causing a lot of stress and bankruptcy in the community. People were not able to feed their families, pay their bills or rent. Thankfully, the Grocery Run program of the Multicultural Health Brokers was able to support the families at this time. Currently, I have six families accessing the program on a weekly basis. The Grocery Run program provides long-term nutritional needs with diverse approaches to meet the unique needs of our community. The quantity of food and the emphasis on nutrition has helped the beneficiaries and they look forward to it every week.”   ~ A MCHB Cultural Broker who supports Edmonton families from Sierra Leone 

        Other Important information: 

        • How to Access: All of our families and community members accessing the Grocery Run are connected to a MCHB Broker. Contact our office for more information and eligibility 
        • Email: mchb@mchb.org  
        • Connect with our team! 
          • Email: groceryrun@mchb.org 
          • Phone us! 780-217-5449