Mobile Grocery Stores Program

The Cause

The World Health Organization and the United Nations regard access to safe and healthy food to be a fundamental individual right. However, many low-income communities have limited access to fresh, affordable produce and other healthy food. Food insecurity affects 1 in every 8 Canadian families, totaling approximately 4 million Canadians.

Fresh Routes (FR) recognized Calgary's food insecurity crisis and felt compelled to take an active role in promoting access to nutritious food.
Instead of conventional food banks, Fresh routes opted for a unique strategy to address Calgary’s food insecurity. Fresh routes is a mobile grocery store that aims to reach as many Canadians as possible, particularly those in need. Our Mobile Grocery Stores offer nutritious, fresh, and accessible food to underserved communities - offering healthy and affordable alternatives, maintaining dignity, and ensuring economic and social vibrancy.

Poverty, social and geographic isolation, high commuting expenses, insufficient housing, lack of transportation, and dispersed potentials all have an influence on access to nutritious and dignified food. Because rightful access to nutritious and culturally acceptable food is impacted by so many different factors, solutions must be broad in scope and founded on social equity ideals.
This is why Fresh Routes has opted to address this challenge by specifically targeting individuals in need with the implementation of creative solutions that match their daily needs. Instead of asking people to go long distances to secure modest food portions, we will be the ones that bridge this gap by ensuring that food is delivered to the doorsteps of the most marginalized communities. Our markets bridge the community's gap for accessing affordable food by offering a service to communities that have historically been marginalized.
Fresh Routes promotes ongoing community benefit by eliminating social and cultural barriers to accessing fresh fruits and vegetables, building connections, and engaging communities in healthy behaviors.

Who Will it Benefit?

Fresh Routes has been able to select specific target locations to address the growing food insecurity crisis. These market locations are co-created with community members and community leaders such as municipal social workers in our efforts to provide culturally appropriate food to food insecure populations. As a result, our target audience mostly consists of disadvantaged communities facing increased barriers to food access including people of color, newcomers, seniors, low-income families and single mothers.