FAQs
What is meant by a “Hamper”?
A hamper is a box of food pre-assembled for households. Hampers will be made up for 1 or 2 persons; a household receives the appropriate number of boxes for the number of people in the home, i.e., a four-person family receives two 2-person hampers.
What is in a Hamper?
A complete list of typical hamper contents is available on our Hamper Program page. The box has dry goods (rice, pasta, and cereal) as well as canned goods. This is supplemented at pick-up with available meat, margarine, dairy and produce.
How can I get a Hamper?
You can receive a hamper if you have all your documents (listed in the Hamper Program page) and you complete the intake process in Bay 12.
How often can I get a Hamper?
We can only give out hampers to families once every four weeks in order to feed as many households as we can with what is available.
What do I need to get a Hamper?
You need to provide a valid Photo ID, proof of address and proof of income to pick up a hamper. If you have children, some form of identification is required for them as well (Alberta Health Care card or birth certificate). Additionally, you will need to bring shopping bags for your products.
Where does all the food come from?
Food comes from donations, national food share, and provincial reclaimed consumer goods programs, Food Banks Alberta Association, food drives, greenhouses, and grocery stores.
How much food do you get from the grocery stores?
We pick up over 600,000 pounds of food from local grocery store donations and greenhouses every year.
Do you accept homemade foods or only commercial foods?
We can accept garden produce, and any products that have been produced in federally inspected facilities (meat, eggs, etc.) We cannot accept home preserves or canned products.
What are the programs and services you offer or in which you are partnered?
We have four main programs: Emergency Hamper program, Agency Food Share, Central Alberta Redistribution Program and Kibble Kitchen for pets, distributing food to central Alberta in four different ways.
How many individuals do you serve every year?
We fed 16,583 people in 2021 through our Emergency Hamper Program. Approximately 300 people per day use our open Community Pantry in addition to that. On average, 40% of our guests are children.
Does the Food Bank serve only the residents of Red Deer?
We assist with supplies to 18 rural regional food banks and 15-20 other helping organizations in Central Alberta. Our service area covers 22,000 sq. km.
Do you get any government funding?
We are solely donor supported. We are not funded by any government money except grants for which we apply and receive approval.
Is there a time when donations are needed most?
The demand never really slows and in 2022 we are seeing record demands. We receive 70% of our annual donations between the middle of November and the end of December.
That said, we can accept donations any time of year and appreciate all financial and food donations we receive throughout the year. Please visit our Get Involved section to see how you can contribute.
Do you have paid staff?
We have a small staff of 10 people and a troop of almost 50 volunteers. We are also guided by a volunteer Board of Directors of 12 community-minded people.
Are there opportunities to volunteer with the Food Bank?
We are happy to receive volunteers! Individuals, groups, schools, families, churches, businesses, service clubs that help in our warehouse and at fundraising events. To volunteer call our administration office at 403-342-5355 or email admin@redeerfoodbank.com.
When did the Food Bank get its start?
The Red Deer Food Bank began in April 1984 as a temporary measure to alleviate the pressures on people impacted by the recession at the time. We are now in our 39th year of service.
How big is the space you have?
We occupy 15,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space in north Red Deer. The address for our Pantry & Hamper office is Bay #9, 7429 – 49 Avenue.
Really though, do Canadians eat the most Mac & Cheese on the planet?
Probably! We give out over 70,000 boxes of mac & cheese every year just in Red Deer. That’s enough that if you lined up the boxes end-for-end, it would stretch from our warehouse at the north end to City Hall downtown!