We used to feed hungry kids.

Now we empower families to feed themselves.

Make a difference

Our Vision

We imagine a world where all children have an equal opportunity to thrive.

Our mission

We empower children and families with dignified options to alleviate food insecurity.

Our Values

Collaborative | Empowering | Progressive Inclusive | Evidence-Based

As a direct result of limited household income, too many children are unable to access enough healthy food every day.

287,000+

children across Alberta struggle with food insecurity.

30%

or nearly 1 in 3 children in Alberta lives in a food-insecure home.

$2.2m

is our 2025 goal to give food-insecure families dignity, choice, and confidence.

This is the most amazing gift for a family in need. There are no barriers. It’s confidential and private. It’s efficient. The impact is immediate. And families get the freedom to choose their own food and the freedom to go to the store that they like. All of this with total dignity.

SONYA, MONTHLY Donor

Your generous support empowers thousands of families with the dignity and confidence to plan, purchase, and provide fresh and healthy food that meets their kids’ unique needs.

Discover More in our Impact Report

Together, we’re creating a major impact.

Since we started providing grocery gift cards in 2020:

41,500+

food-insecure kids received our support last year – while this number has grown, many more need our help.

200+

communities accessed our program through participation in more than 55 unique programs delivered by 23 frontline agency partners.

$3.7m+

in grocery gift cards has been targeted to food-insecure families in greatest need across Alberta.

Young girl stands at the kitchen table making cakes with her father

Thank you for choosing to build people up. It’s clear that you value people and their wellness – and that’s both rare and beautiful. Some people are so busy that they don’t see beyond the veil. You understand because you haven’t taken your eyes off your mission. Thank you for being indistractable. Thank you over and over for pouring care into my family and I. We really appreciate you.

Father, 1 child

With your help, we can achieve so much more!

Donate

Your generosity allows us to empower vulnerable people in our community with dignity and choice.

Fundraise

One person with one idea and a network of supporters can make a big impact.

Spread the word

The more people voice their support for our cause, the less kids will struggle with food insecurity.

It started with a simple question

In 2015, 11-year old Sutton Garner was watching a news item when she learned that thousands of children go hungry over the summer months. Like a lot of kids, she was both bothered by this and curious – she wanted to know why. And specifically if it was happening in Calgary.

What started as a youthful act of compassion soon evolved into a far-reaching mission to change the way we tackle food insecurity across our communities.

OUR JOURNEY

What’s new

Behind the scenes at iCAN

Big things happen in small spaces! From a 20,000 sq. ft. warehouse of food to a tiny corner office in Calgary, we’ve transformed how thousands of food-insecure children and families access healthy food—one grocery gift card at a time.

The grocery gift card approach gains momentum and credibility

Like everybody else, those of us at I Can for Kids (iCAN) recognize the comfort and security of traditions. Familiar practices feel easy, safe, and reassuring. Yet there are major risks if our society relies blindly on the comfort of longstanding approaches to major social and health issues. When it comes to empowering households who lack the income to buy enough food, iCAN realized how more than forty years of traditional food programming had fallen significantly short. That’s why in 2020, we took advantage of the global pandemic to implement and study a rapid and innovative change to our response to food insecurity.

Fuel healthy futures with Save-On-Foods

Our 11th annual fundraising campaign with Save-On-Foods is officially underway! All month long, when you donate in-store or online, Save-On-Foods will match the first $10,000 raised, doubling your impact.