LCC Media had the pleasure of a candid conversation with the spokeswoman of the Edmonton’s Food Bank – Tamisan Bencz-Knight about the work done in the city by the Edmonton Food Bank. Incorporated in 1981 as Edmonton Gleaners Association, Edmonton’s Food Bank was the first-ever food bank in the whole of Canada. Today, through their hamper program, they serve 22,000 people per month individualised and personalised meals. They are a central warehouse distributing food through over 250 agencies, churches and food depots throughout the city.
More than food provision, the story of Edmonton’s Food Bank is that of helping people to food security. To this end, they encourage people to plant gardens, to grow their own foods, they work with people teaching them how to make their foods last longer, they help people get back to work by helping them to work on their resumes. One story that made Ms Bencz- Knight cry was the one woman who chose to keep trawling through garbage than to hid the call to come to the Edmonton Food Bank. The stigma is real for some families. Who knows this better than the 125,000 people who are living below the poverty line in Edmonton today.
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