Blackfalds Beyond Food Community Hub seeing high demand for assistance

The hub also has a Lunchbox program so children have lunches and home meals.

This year, they’ve served up 3,962 boxes, with nearly 10,200 children served. That’s double compared to 2021, with about 130 kids served weekly last year, now up to over 260.

According to Keim, the programs they need the most help with right now include the Christmas hampers and Lunchbox.

Into 2023, they’ll also be continuing programs such as the Snack Attack and The Pantry program in partnership with Servus, Affordable Market in collaboration with IGA, Changing the Cycle, which provides no-cost menstrual products to those facing low-income disparity, the Pet Food Bank, and the Grad Dress Boutique.

What’s also exciting is the incoming Community Kitchen.

“The former executive director and I have talked about this for five years, and I’ve dreamt of it for over a decade, so it’s exciting that it’s close to coming to fruition. We want to teach kids how to cook at home, and we have an area with two 36″ commercial ranges, but also a smaller set up like you’d see in a regular home,” explains Keim.

“Kids can learn simple meals that are healthy and quick alternatives to mac and cheese. Ethnic groups can come in too, and we’ll base events off of that where people sit down and share stories, which of course builds diversity and inclusion. We have ideas geared toward seniors as far as prepping meals for them, or even having them come cook a collective meal where people put in $10 and walk away with five different dinners.”

The possibilities are endless, says Keim, who grew up in Blackfalds and knows the impact the hub has had and can have.

“It’s a small town that has lots of hidden hurt in the sense that people in the past have worked in the oilfield, for example, so there’s been lots of appearance of affluence. But when I look at our numbers and see how many kids need to access our lunchbox, it shows how much need there is and how many people are on the verge of being one paycheque away from either filing bankruptcy or missing a mortgage payment,” says Keim.

“The reality of it is more than people understand. Things look good on the surface but behind the facade it isn’t. Thus, it’s important to be a part, even if you access our programs, of helping other people. That’s what can enrich the community; a sense of belonging can be had through participating and giving. You’re in a town not just to take from it, but give to it, and the Beyond Food Community Hub facilitates that.”

For more information, visit the organization’s Facebook page.

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Blackfalds Beyond Food Community Hub seeing high demand for assistance

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