Meals Program for Calgary’s Most Vulnerable

The Cause

Looking for financial support to the Calgary Drop-In Centre's Meals Program. The DI serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner to 1,500+ Calgarians accessing our services every day, including bagged lunches for clients who may be at work or out of the shelter during the lunch hour. We exist to help anyone who needs help! Working collaboratively with community partners, we offer a broad spectrum of care including emergency shelter, health programs, and housing options – all geared to help people find their way home.

Every person’s story is as unique as the situation that brings them to our doors. For many, homelessness is the only option when affordable housing is out of reach, or income has been lost due to illness or having to flee an unsafe situation. Often, experiences of trauma, especially in early childhood, leave a lasting impact on a person’s mental and physical health. Regardless of what led a person to the DI, our goal is to make their time with us as short as possible.

Experiencing homelessness and lacking the basic necessities of life leads to disproportionally high rates of health issues, like substance use. As the drug crisis continues to escalate, we have added additional supports including a drug poisoning response program, detox and recovery transition programs, which together provide new pathways to treatment, recovery and ultimately housing.

Who Will it Benefit?

Homelessness, mental health, and addiction are a bigger concern than ever.  Food security continues to be a concern, and our population is growing here at the DI. We do not see shelter as a place to call home. Rather, we see shelter as a place where folks can rest, refuel, and ask for supports to find a home. Food costs are constantly on the rise, and it has become difficult to provide our visitors with a meal that consists of balanced nutrition, and more than what is merely required to survive. Your support will provide up to 6000 individuals with a decent hot breakfast to start their day.

With a contribution of $10,000 the DI will be able to serve 10 hot, nutritious breakfast to thousands of unique individuals. This difference in a meal will help people in need. People such as:

"Joe" who works a demanding construction job and is saving up for his first and last month's rent so he can earn custody of his two kids.
"Yusuf" who is a refugee in Canada without any documentation from his former country because the federal records were destroyed.
"Cheryl" who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and an opioid addiction, having been neglected and abused as a child.

10 additional breakfasts over the next year will help alleviate hunger and stress for people like Joe, Yusuf and Cheryl. We see firsthand how much a hot meal can increase a person's physical well-being and feeling of worthiness.