Hampers for the Homeless

WHAT WE DO

Hampers for the homeless

The Hampers for the Homeless Program provides food to agencies that work with those experiencing homelessness in Calgary. Hampers provide short-term relief of hunger with easy to open, ready to eat, shelf stable food for one to two days.

creating a hunger-free community

Providing food to the cities most vulnerable

The Hampers for the Homeless Program was created in 1999 as a response to agencies’ concerns regarding the homeless population’s access to food. Some Calgarians living rough were falling through the cracks of the food resource system. These hampers provide short-term relief of hunger with easy to open, ready to eat, shelf stable food for one to two days. A bulk food option is also available to agencies who prefer to customize content for their client base.

The hampers and the food they provide are invaluable to vulnerable individuals and the agencies that serve them. Food is a catalyst to supporting anyone in need, and this hamper program gives the qualified agencies who serve the homeless population a starting point for conversation with those in crisis.

The estimated market value for a hamper is $30. While this provides financial relief for the recipient and the agency, the value of the hamper goes far beyond the dollar amount. When agencies aren’t focusing on food, they can focus on their core programming and use their resources to connect and work more closely with their clients, increasing their chances of being transitioned out of homelessness.

Our programming has improved through rigorous review and adaptation, letting us deliver more value to the people we serve. Want to know more? Visit our Charity Intelligence page to review the program goals and learnings.

“Thanks to the Food Bank, the DOAP Team is able to give out food in the community to those experiencing homelessness. The team uses the food as an engagement tool to start the conversation of what they can assist individuals with. Providing a basic need such as food is essential to our outreach work in building rapport with those experiencing homelessness.

Our Encampment team works with people sleeping outside. Being able to provide food to those who do not access shelters is the first step in building trust to start the conversation about how to get them into housing.

By providing homeless hampers from the Food Bank it adds to our ability to meet clients where they are at and get them to engage with us around other social issues they might be facing”

Adam Melnyk, Calgary Alpha House