Over the past five years, the Calgary Food Bank has seen a 200 per cent increase in the number of users, and in the past year, almost 30 per cent.

Looking to put food towards that massive demand, was the 32nd annual Stuff-a-bus event on Nov. 16, which saw Calgary Transit collect donations at 19 Calgary Co-ops across the city.

The reality is that continued financial pressures have made the emergency hampers they provide an even more essential service in the city, said Melissa From, CEO of the Calgary Food Bank,

“I kind of feel a bit like a broken record, because I think we’ve been talking about this for about a year and a half. But the reality is, I know we see the interest rates coming down, and we see inflation rates slowing, but the horse has left the barns,” she said.

“People have faced mortgage rate increases, rent increases, housing increases, tax increases, you name it. That grocery line has just been eaten away time and time again. So, we just continue to see unprecedented demand at the Calgary Food Bank.”

She said that in 2024, one of the fastest-growing demographics they have been serving has been the working poor—individuals who are working full-time jobs and doing everything right but are still unable to afford to eat.

“It’s unbelievable to think in a city like Calgary, where we have so much that there are so many people literally faced with a choice of food or housing on a regular basis,” said From.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek, who participated in the Stuff-a-bus day by purchasing food for donation and helping to load other donations provided by Calgarians into a Calgary Transit bus, said that the issue of food insecurity was a serious one in the city.

“What I’m seeing and hearing in our city right now is that about a third of families are experiencing some sort of food insecurity. We’ve heard from a lot of parents that they’re skipping meals to make sure that their kids are well-fed,” she said.

That sentiment was echoed by From, who said that one of the biggest in-demand items at the Calgary Food Bank was baby formula.

“Formula is just so incredibly expensive. If you can’t afford food you probably can’t afford formula,” she said.

From said that one of the ways that the food bank was addressing the needs of Calgarians was by introducing Canada’s first-ever click-and-collect model for food hampers.

“When folks come to the Calgary Food Bank, we give them a menu of options. They get to choose their proteins, they get to choose dairy, they get to choose their pantry staples and it’s helping us to be better informed on what we need from the community,” she said.

“One of our most requested items right now is actually flour. Folks want to be able to bake their own goods at home. Almost every culture has some sort of a bread, and so to have flour and be able to make the bread that’s appropriate to your culture, whether it’s naan bread or sourdough bread, folks want that. They want that autonomy.”

She said that information was likely to inform the kind of changes the food bank is planning on making to their most requested items list, but that staples like rice, pasta, pasta sauce, and canned tomatoes remain popular choices.

Stepping up to fill hampers at the Calgary Food Bank

Director of Calgary Transit, Sharon Fleming, said that each year the operators and staff from the service were proud to do their part to help other Calgarians.

“Our operators are super proud to participate in this event. They work out in the community every day, they see the need out there, and they want to give back. This is one of the best opportunities that they have it every year to do, and they love it,” she said.

She said that every year when the call is put out for volunteers, the slots are filled almost immediately.

“We even have people from the office helping with the stuffing. It’s really a group effort and they’re really proud to be part of it,” Fleming said.

At the 19 different Calgary Co-op locations, Director of Communications and Loyalty, Sage Pullen McIntosh, said that staff and customers really look forward to doing their part as well.

“It’s such an iconic moment when you see those Calgary Transit busses rolling in front of the Calgary Co-op food stores in the city. Somebody said it to me earlier today, for a lot of people, it’s really a tradition. It’s a moment for them to be able to come out and show how much they want to support those in our community who need them the most,” she said.

“We do hear from our members a lot that it’s very important for them to be able to direct any funds that they’re donating, or any food products that they’re donating to organizations that really are working hard to improve food improve food security in our community.”

She said that at the stores staff can get competitive to see how much they can give.

“You can feel the energy in the store today, For all of us at Calgary Co-op, it’s just one of many moments where we really want to ensure that we can give back, and make sure that we’re able to have our community come together for this,” said Pullen McIntosh

Councillor’s Calgary Food Bank Challenge kicking off later in November

That competition continues later on Nov. 27, with the annual Councillor’s Calgary Food Bank Challenge, where Calgary ward councillors will compete with each other to collect the most food from their ward, and then bag it alongside their teams in December.

“The competition is friendly between all of us, but the purpose is meaningful. It’s to make sure that all Calgary families have enough food in their homes,” said Mayor Gondek.

“This is all super competitive in many ways, and it’s also super collective in all of the ways, where we are looking after each other.”

For the past two years running, Ward 5 Councillor Raj Dhaliwal has taken home the much coveted Golden Lettuce Award from that competition.

Calgarians looking to participate in that challenge are invited to contact their local ward councillor to find out where local Calgary Food Bank dropbox locations will be located.