The service that helps to provide people of all income levels with the most economical bags of groceries around is fast becoming one of the most popular in the area.
The Wecan Food Basket Society, a non-profit organization, facilitates a monthly pickup at 30 different depots across the Capital region, including St. Albert at the local Salvation Army church. According to Carolyn DubĂ©, the church’s community and family services co-ordinator, there are about 100 members who use the service — up from 22 last year — making it one of the largest and fastest-growing in the region.
“It’s one of [Wecan’s] largest depots,” she said. “I’m not sure whether there is anybody that’s larger.”
Wecan began operations in 1995 with the sole aim of reducing the impact of rising food costs for struggling families. Its all-inclusive status means anyone can purchase the hampers as long as they can pay the $5 annual fee. That’s in contrast to organizations like the St. Albert Food Bank, where referral criteria outlines who can access hampers and how often (up to six a year). Wecan’s annual fee has not increased since the service started.
Wecan acquires food through a social service program with wholesaler The Grocery People. Each monthly hamper costs $20 and includes two kilograms of meats and three kilograms of fruits and vegetables, with options for vegetarian-only diets. Members can decide how many hampers to buy at a time, as long as they pay in advance. The purchasing deadline for April is next Thursday.
According to the monthly newsletter that comes with each scheduled pickup, the price of the food in hampers can be less than half the cost of the same food from grocery stores, depending on which store you shop at. Jelena Radic, the organization’s program manager, said financial duress shouldn’t prevent area families from eating properly.
“We ensure that people get access to healthy, fresh food,” she said. “It’s all top quality. There’s no compromise. The Heart and Stroke Foundation and other health programs in the city have been alerted to the fact that people don’t eat healthy because of the prices. Our prices are lower than any major grocery store in the city. We average 50 per cent less.”
DubĂ© related how thankful the clients are to have the opportunity to buy these groceries. “Everybody says it’s great.”
The Salvation Army also maintains a number of other community supports, and Wecan figures prominently as a regular recommendation, she added. “It’s something that we offer to our clients when they come in if they’re struggling. This is a way for them to get fresh meat and produce. People really appreciate that.”
The food baskets also come at the end of the third week of each month, typically the time when most clients’ bank accounts are at their lowest levels because of how their paycheques are scheduled.
Dubé has a list of tips to help people make smarter, more economical food choices. She strongly suggested people not only make grocery lists but also adhere to them when shopping for food. Impulse buys often consist of junk food and they greatly increase the total grocery bill at the end.
DubĂ© recommends staying away from non-nutritious meals available at fast food outlets, and to plan meals in advance. This is easier to achieve with the Wecan newsletter that provides various recipes using ingredients made available in each hamper. It’s also a good idea to be reasonable with your meal proportions, as many tend to overeat. Finally, get your whole family involved in food buying and meal preparation. That way, there will be a greater variety of food that everyone is more interested in eating.
