Officials with United Way Central Alberta say food found missing from a public art display set up at the Dawe Recreation Centre recently and highlighting the issue of hunger in our community, truly demonstrates the issue is real in central Alberta.

By Sheldon Spackman

Unignorable

Food missing from public art display highlights local hunger issue: United Way

Oct 17, 2019 | 3:20 PM

Officials with United Way Central Alberta say the disappearance of food from one of their public art displays at a city recreation facility this week truly highlights the issue of hunger in our community.

CEO Brett Speight says they currently have four different mobile art displays throughout Red Deer focusing on the four themes of domestic violence, mental illness, homelessness and hunger.

Speight says the ‘hunger’ art display had six lunch kits set up on a table at the Dawe Recreation Centre – five of them with food inside and one being painted in their #UNIGNORABLE orange colour.

“That kit would contain just a granola bar, and the rest would be filled with food to represent the statistic that one in six children (in Canada) go to school hungry,” he explains. “When we went to pick up the art installation, we noticed that actually all the food was missing, which we felt just kind of hammers-home the point that this is a real issue. Whether it was a kid grabbing a snack cause they were hungry, or maybe a parent grabbing some snacks for their children later, it is an issue we face in central Alberta.”

Speight says their four art displays have been placed throughout the city since kicking-off their annual fundraising campaign Sept. 12.

to speak at upcoming conference

Former Red Deerian shares recovery journey from drugs and crime, suggests possible solutions

17h ago

judicial review to continue in june

Day 3 of LaGrange v. Red Deer Catholic: The meme had, "nothing to do with the Holocaust"

May 03, 2024

April 2023 Incident

Two-year prison term for man convicted in arson fire of Red Deer Canadian Tire store

May 03, 2024

“The first place they were displayed were at different recreation centres throughout the city, so we did have the ‘hunger’ one at the Dawe,” recalls Speight. “We had ‘homelessness’ at the Rec Centre, and then ‘mental health’ and ‘domestic violence’ were both set up at the Collicutt for the last three weeks, we just took them out on Tuesday. So when the food went missing, I don’t know the exact date, sometime over that three weeks the food went missing.”

With this year’s campaign theme being #UNIGNORABLE, Speight hopes the art installations raise awareness of the issues and make people think more about them.

“So to make the art clear on what it is, but not clear enough that you get it right away,” he exclaims. “We want you to look at it and give some thought to what you’re seeing. That’s really the goal, is to get people thinking and get them talking about these issues.”

Now removed from the Dawe Recreation Centre, Speight says the ‘hunger’ display’s next stop is still being determined.

“We actually just got back from setting the ‘domestic violence’ and ‘mental health’ ones up at the Red Deer Regional Hospital and we’ll be setting up the ‘homelessness’ one at the Michener Centre tomorrow,” he explains. “So we’re just kind of coordinating where that fourth installation is going to go. We are looking at locations outside of the city as well throughout central Alberta because we do have a large region, so we’d like to get that conversation happening in some of the rural communities as well.”

Speight says the art displays will continue to be moved throughout central Alberta during the entire length of their annual fundraising campaign.

“These issues are important and I think this just highlights that fact,” says Speight. “This one happens to be hunger and because we used food in the display, it reinforced that issue. But each of the issues that we’re highlighting are equally real in central Alberta and getting that conversation around these issues and coming together as a community to address them is extremely important.”