Cranbrook Food Recovery, a program of Community Connections Society of Southeast BC, is pleased to announce it has received a grant of $40,000 from Community Food Centres Canada’s Good Food Access Fund.

The grant will enable Cranbrook Food Recovery to distribute grocery store gift cards to local community programs and to school food programs.

Combined with the food recovered by Cranbrook Food Recovery, the gift cards will allow programs and community members in need to purchase essentials at local grocery stores.  Funding is provided in part by the Government of Canada’s Local Food Infrastructure Fund, as part of the Food Policy for Canada. The fund aims to strengthen food systems and facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for at-risk populations.

“Cranbrook Food Recovery partners every day of the year with local community programs and schools to offer fresh produce, dairy and meat to people in need. With funding from the Good Food Access Fund, we hope to supplement those groceries with gift cards that will allow community members struggling with the economic effects of COVID-19 to buy the essentials their households need. Local community programs who have clients in need are encouraged to contact us at [email protected] for a link to the gift card registration form,” said Meredith Funston, Program Coordinator for Cranbrook Food Recovery.

“Food insecurity was already an urgent problem before the COVID-19 crisis, with one in eight Canadians struggling to put food on the table. In a time of national crisis, it is in our nature as Canadians to do what we can for our most vulnerable neighbours. We are grateful to the Government of Canada for their quick response, as well as the many corporate partners and generous donors who have stepped forward,” said Nick Saul, CEO of Community Food Centres Canada.

“The Good Food Access Fund aims to make sure that as many people as possible will be able to get the food that they need. And while we must deal with the current circumstances, CFCC remains committed to advancing policy change that addresses the underlying causes of food insecurity and poverty in Canada. We can’t forget that structural inequity is at the core of so many of the challenges that Canadians face, a fact which painfully confronts us when an emergency like this occurs.”

Community Food Centres Canada builds health, belonging and social justice in low-income communities through the power of food. We work with 13 Community Food Centres and 183 Good Food Organizations in 175 communities across Canada

Our Good Food Access Fund was established to provide emergency relief during this time of national crisis to our most vulnerable neighbours.

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