1 in 4 People In Our Community Are Facing Food Insecurity, 40% Of Them Are Children
No one should have to choose between paying bills and putting food on the table. Red Deer The Food Bank Society provides emergency food support, food recovery programs, and community food security initiatives across Central Alberta.
Garden 49 Food Production Volunteers
Garden 49 Food Production Volunteers
Need help with food?
The Food Hub is a welcoming, grocery style shopping experience designed to give individuals and families more choice, dignity, and flexibility when accessing food support.
Instead of receiving a prepacked hamper, clients can select the foods that work best for their household. This allows people to choose items based on their family's size, dietary needs, cultural preferences, allergies, and personal tastes while reducing food waste and ensuring food is put to good use.
Our Food Hub is stocked with a variety of food items that may include fresh produce, dairy products, meat, pantry staples, bakery items, and other essential groceries, depending on availability. By providing choice, we help ensure that the food families receive is both useful and meaningful to them.
The Food Hub operates by appointment and is designed to create a respectful, supportive, and personalized experience for every client. Whether you are facing a temporary challenge or navigating ongoing financial pressures, our team is here to help connect you with food and additional community supports when needed.
Everyone deserves access to nutritious food and the opportunity to choose what works best for their household.
Food Hub Is By Appointment Only
To help reduce wait times and better serve our community,
Hours
Monday to Friday
9:00 AM - 11:45 AM
1:00 AM - 3:45 PM
Pantry Program
Extra Food When You Need It
The Pantry Program is an open access food support program designed to help individuals and families stretch their food budget and supplement the groceries they already have at home.
Each day, our Pantry is stocked with a variety of rescued and donated food items. Inventory changes daily based on donations and food rescue opportunities, so every visit is different.
The Pantry Program is available to our community who is experiencing food insecurity. There are no appointments required, simply stop by during Pantry hours and see what is available. Whether you need a few items to get through the week or some extra support between pay cheques, our goal is to help ensure food doesn't go to waste while helping our neighbors access the food they need.
The Pantry Program works alongside our Food Hub to help ensure everyone in our community has access to nutritious food with dignity and choice.
Reducing Waste. Feeding People.
Every item in the Pantry Program represents food that has been rescued, donated, or redirected to help someone in our community. By connecting surplus food with people who need it, we're reducing waste, increasing access to food, and helping build a stronger, more caring Central Alberta.
Hours
Monday to Friday
9:00 AM - 11:45 AM
1:00 AM - 3:45 PM
2025 Community Impact
Behind every number is a person, a family, a child, or a senior who received support when they needed it most. Through food recovery, community partnerships, and the generosity of donors and volunteers, we are helping ensure that food reaches the people that need it.
In 2025, the Red Deer Food Bank distributed more than 1.6 million pounds of food and provided support to 30,500 people across Central Alberta. Our Pantry Program welcomed over 44,000 visits, offering accessible food support to community members throughout the year.
Most importantly, 40% of the people we serve are children. Every meal, snack, and grocery item distributed helps ensure local kids have the nutrition they need to learn, grow, and thrive.
Together, we are building a stronger, healthier, and more food secure community.
Small Actions. Big Community Impact.
Ways To Help
01
Give Monthly
Monthly donations provide reliable support that helps us plan ahead, keep shelves stocked, and ensure fresh food is available for families throughout the year. Even a small monthly gift can create lasting impact and help build a stronger, hunger-free Central Alberta.
02
Donate
A one-time donation can help provide fresh food, pantry staples, and essential items to families, seniors, and children facing food insecurity across Central Alberta. Every gift, no matter the size, helps ensure our shelves stay stocked and support is available when our community needs it most.
03
Volunteer
Volunteers are at the heart of everything we do, helping sort food, support programs, assist clients, and keep our operations running every day. By volunteering your time, you are making a direct impact in the lives of people across Central Alberta.
04
Donate Food
Food donations help provide nutritious meals and essential pantry items to individuals and families facing food insecurity in our community. Every can, box, and fresh item donated helps ensure our neighbours have access to the food they need with dignity and care.
05
Organize A Food Drive
Organizing a food drive is a powerful way to bring your workplace, school, team, church, or community together to help local families in need. Every food drive helps ensures more people across Central Alberta have access to healthy food.
06
Amazon Wishlist
Our Amazon Wish List makes it easy to send urgently needed items directly to the Red Deer Food Bank from the comfort of your home. Every purchase helps provide essential food and household items to individuals and families across Central Alberta.
In our community, there is an abundance of food, but people still go hungry.
Last year, we supported more than 30,500 individuals with emergency food. That's 2,550 people every single month and 40% of them were children.
More than 1,000 kids, every month, are depending on our community to show up.
Demand has more than doubled since before COVID. With rising costs, tariffs, and economic pressure on families across Red Deer, we don't expect that to change.
Monthly giving is how we keep up. When you give automatically each month, we can plan ahead, keep shelves stocked, and be there every week, for every family that needs us. No gaps. No running out.
Choose your level and start today.
LEARN MORE
Stay current with our monthly bulletin!
BecOME PART of our team
Current Volunteer Openings
Care Services
-
Work closely with Food Hub staff, volunteers, and clients
Answer the phone, book and confirm appointments
Use computer programs to enter data and information
Monitor stock and people in The Pantry
-
Work closely with Food Hub staff, volunteers, and clients
Assess client eligibility for services
Deal with clients' personal information with a high level of confidentiality and discretion
Use computer programs to enter data and information
-
Accompany the client while shopping in the Food Hub
Answer client questions regarding food choices and quantities
Check the client out of the Food Hub
Restock and clean the Food Hub
-
Work closely with Food Hub staff, volunteers, and clients
Check the client out of the Food Hub by weighing all items chosen
Record total weight per client
-
Work closely with Food Hub staff, volunteers and clients
Restock shelves with products supplied by the Warehouse team
Clean shelves while restocking and remove garbage and compost materials
Monitor the cleanliness of the Food Hub
Food Production
-
Assist in the ongoing care and maintenance of indoor and outdoor growing spaces
Weeding, watering, pruning, transplanting, and general garden upkeep
-
Start and maintain crops from seed
Filling trays, sowing seeds, labelling, and transplanting seedlings
-
Assist with harvesting fresh produce
Weighing products and preparing vegetables and greens for distribution
-
Help maintain community garden plots and shared growing spaces
Planting, watering, seasonal cleanup, and general upkeep
Warehouse
-
Sort and repack all non-perishable and perishable products entering the Warehouse
Clean all bins, containers, and workspaces during and after sorting
Remove cardboard, garbage, and compost materials
Move products from one area of the Warehouse to another and into the Food Hub and Pantry
-
Repackage bulk products by portioning according to measuring guidelines
Seal, weigh, label, and transfer portioned products
Clean and sanitize portioning tables, utensils, and containers between each product
Follow good hygiene and safe food handling practices
BLOG ARCHIVE
Come see what’s cookin’ in the community!
