For the past 33 years, Calgarians have stepped up and helped the Calgary Food Bank solve the food security needs of their fellow citizens through the annual Stuff-a-bus campaign.

Calgary Transit operators and staff, along with their partners at the Calgary Food Bank and Calgary Co-op accepted donations at all 22 co-op locations across the city on Nov. 22.

The results of the annual drive would be immense for those individuals suffering from food insecurity, said Calgary Food Bank CEO Melissa From.

“Last year it meant $70,000 and 80,000 pounds of food. I hope this year it means even more than that. And for us, that goes a really long way to getting us through the cold winter months and making sure that folks have food on the table,” she said.

From said that on any given day in Calgary, 800 households are going to the food bank to receive between seven and 10 days worth of food.

She said that figure represents the ongoing crisis that has been affecting Calgary since the pandemic to feed people in need.

“I feel a bit like a broken record, because it feels like it’s been two and a half years of we’re feeding more people. We’re feeding more people. I’m not sure I see the end of that crisis at this point,” said From.

“Particular items, like baby formula, have doubled in cost in five years—you can imagine, for a mother facing food insecurity, who’s already struggling to make ends meet, and then has to pay $60 to $70 for a month’s worth of formula food for her infant child.”

Some 37 per cent of individuals served by the Calgary Food Bank in 2025 were children, and the second largest reason for emergency food hamper use was a single-income person with dependants, after unemployment.

Stuff-a-bus makes a tangible difference to thousands

As part of the event, newly elected Mayor Jeromy Farkas was taken on a shopping tour of the new Oakridge Calgary Co-op by From, who explained what items the Calgary Food Bank was seeking as donations.

“I learned a lot about actually, the specifics, the staples that they’re looking for. I put in my cart a lot of [flour], apparently that’s one thing that pretty much every single culture uses, but they don’t get enough of it. I also learned to avoid putting in glass, so tomatoes, pasta sauce, that sort of stuff is great, but no glass because it makes some of the handling a bit more difficult behind the scenes,” said Farkas.

“Then beyond that, some of the kits that are sold as well are selected for a good reason. Of course, we welcome all of the donations, regardless of what Calgarians want to put in the bus to help stuff it. But there’s some pre-selected options as well that make the whole process very easy for Calgarians to help support the campaign.”

The top items being sought by the food bank for the 2025 holiday season was pasta, canned tomatoes, peanut butter, diapers (size 1 to 6), and formula.

Mayor Farkas said that solving the hunger crisis in Calgary would come from all orders of government working towards the needs of citizens.

“There’s a lot of debate around poverty reduction, food insecurity, housing precariousness, and we need all orders of government working together. That’s really what our Council is committed to doing,” he said.

“We can help invite our provincial and federal partners, who, frankly, have deeper pockets to be able to address the issue. But as far as I’m concerned and our council is concerned, it’s all of us working together, pulling in the same direction to really support the amazing work that the food bank is doing, the incredible efficiency that they have for the donations that are provided.”

That pulling together on a council level is set to continue later this year with the annual councillors’ challenge, Farkas said.

“I would say it’s game on. Raj Dhaliwal, the Ward 5 councillor, has been uncontested practically over the last several years, and he shows off his Golden Lettuce award in the council chambers. So, I’m going to be challenging all of my council colleagues to step up,” he said.

Already stepping up to help were Calgary Transit staff, said Calgary Transit Director Sharon Flemming.

“We are part of the community. We see what’s going on out there, and we want to do everything we can to support and this tradition is really important to us,” she said.

For more information on donating to the Calgary Food Bank, see www.calgaryfoodbank.com.