Calgary group distributes food in city

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on June 22, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The Alberta Food Rescue and Distribution, formerly known as Calgary Family Peer Connection partnered with Mainstreet Equity Corp. to bring food to their residents Tuesday.
They provided over $100,000 worth of food to residents and members of the community at large. The event ran from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m with the last hour being open to Lethbridge residents outside of the Mainstreet community.
AFRD founder Jaquie Duhacek said they still have the CFPC name but they have changed the portion related to their food distribution to make a distinction. She said they continue to work on maintaining that food is part of mental wellness and food distribution is very important, especially with inflation increasing and social supports not increasing.
“We were seeing a struggle with utility bills and where families cannot maintain food, so what we’re doing today it is even different than what we did with the drive through in Christmas as we have everything from breads, perishables, rice, pastas, vegetables and fruit,” said Duhacek.
She said one resident per household received approximately $200 worth of food that included different types of proteins, milk products, kids snacks and more.
“We just brought to Alberta the most amount of potatoes at two million pound of potatoes from the PEI potato crisis that happened,” said Duhacek.
She said this time around it has a more community feeling since it is not a drive through. She said it is more personal as they have time to talk to the residents more than while they were in their cars.
“It’s great for the community to come together, is kind of like a little block party,” said Duhacek.
Mainstreet Equity Corp. Regional manager Chris Hollinger said they are trying to take care of their residents.
“We’ve teamed up with them in the past providing healthy food to the residents that live in our properties, we provide housing and we like to also provide other necessary assets required for people to have a safe and comfortable place to call home,” said Hollinger.
He said they are planning to continue this partnership, will be traveling to their properties all over Alberta and will be back in Lethbridge in the future.
“We’re just happy to see the community come together, it’s a vibrant area with lots of great people living in this complex and in the general area and we’re just happy that we can support in any way possible,” said Hollinger.

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