Food security remains a pressing need in Calgary. Recent data has identified that many Calgary households are experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity and are concerned about not having enough money for food. The onset of the pandemic in March 2020 resulted in heightened demand for emergency food assistance. This demand revealed gaps in the emergency food assistance system. In response, a variety of agencies began providing food assistance where they had not before, while community-based mutual aid initiatives also emerged.
The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered valuable community strengths and opportunities; a need to increase the accessibility of food assistance services; increase collaboration and coordination of the emergency food assistance system; and increase the capacity of food assistance providers to meet the food needs of Calgarians.
Examining Calgary's Emergency Food Assistance System provides recommendations that will improve the capacity of Calgary’s emergency food assistance system to effectively deliver emergency food assistance in an emergency.
