Welcome to Food Banks Alberta. We are comprised of a dedicated group of individuals from various Food Banks who desire a regionally based organization. Collectively we are better able respond to the challenges faced by Food Banks in Southern and Central Alberta.
Thank you for visiting our site and please support your local Food Bank where volunteers, funding and food are always in demand.
Mission Statement
Dedicated to representing and providing support to Food Banks through leadership, direction and sharing information and resources.
Vision Statement
A collective approach to build capacity so that members may alleviate hunger and food insecurity in their communities.
Principles
We share our resources and information. We conduct our affairs with integrity, honesty and transparency while honoring required confidentiality. We seek and respect the valued opinions of members. We are an inclusive organization.
Our History
The history of the Southern & Central Alberta Food Bank Federation is a fairly short one. It had its start with the first meetings of the Red Deer Distribution Network in 2001. Those food banks joined together to share information and resources with each other. They tried to fill a void that needed filling, that being information and association. Smaller food banks felt very alone, each wondering how other food banks were doing. Limited resources kept many from involvement in the provincial association. By meeting regionally, they found that much information could be shared. Smaller centers became better informed as to what was taking place in other areas. Most of the discussions centered around supplies, how to get them, increasing demand and how to deal with it. These food banks than decided to meet in Red Deer every 4 or 5 months to keep up with events and to share insights and resources. In discussions with the Calgary InterFaith Food Bank, it was found that there was common interest in sharing information and resources. It was felt that other food banks in the region would be interested in these meetings. Therefore an invitation was extended to food banks all over Southern and Central Alberta. Many food banks from the region attended and were pleased with what they learned. From that meeting, food banks decided to work on forming a loose coalition that would try to work with the existing association. Others felt that we needed to start a new regional association as soon as possible. Boards were consulted, the direction was chosen, a new association was formed. We would always try to work with the existing provincial association, but there was a real benefit to working together regionally. In 2003, the Southern and Central Alberta Food Bank Federation had our first Annual General Meeting. We elected a Board of Directors from all over the region and presented our Articles of Association. We were incorporated the Alberta Companies Act. on October 25, 2004. In 2008 our name was changed to Food Banks Alberta
Aims and Objectives
- To develop a Southern & Central Alberta focus to support food banks in achieving their mission to feed the hungry in their local communities through sharing information and resources between food banks.
- To plan and implement collective approaches and methods in the Region and beyond for public education and awareness initiatives concerning poverty and hunger issues.
- To provide a positive and timely response to crisis and food emergencies affecting food banks in the region.
- To create opportunities for food banks in the region to collectively represent themselves to government and policy makers.
- To represent the members collectively in approaches or agreements with food industries or other sources of food.
- To represent the members in any centralized approaches to donors of funds or resources for the collective benefit of the member food banks.
