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Voices of resilience:
How grocery gift cards empower families
Connect with the powerful voices of our recipients as they share personal journeys of resilience amid food insecurity. Their stories showcase the way income-based responses empower families to navigate financial challenges, connect to their communities, and reclaim their dignity. We believe their experiences and insights will inspire everyone to come together and transform all sectors to ensure all children have access to the healthy food and other essentials that they need to thrive.
In their own words
With the endless climb in inflation, it just feels like all the basics are being stripped away, bit by bit.
We do all we can to reduce our heating and electricity costs, but my family still has to make a lot of difficult choices about food.
All my family can do is make the best choices we can with what we have. We greatly appreciate the way I Can for Kids helps with the harmful impacts of poverty because good food means our brains and bodies can function properly.”
By sharing my personal story, I hope to bring attention to the incredible role food has in a kid’s life as a source of connection, tradition, and safety.
I’m an adult who experienced food insecurity as a kid. Twice! I’m not sure a lot of people understand how food insecurity can lead to long-term consequences well after a child grows up, even if that person is no longer food insecure as an adult. I thought it might help your audience to better understand the dignity and impact of your program if they had the chance to see this issue from a new perspective.
The cards provide so much freedom to lead your life with less stress and more choice.
I really like that the agency always just seems to know when I need the gift cards. It’s so hard to ask for help, but the grocery gift card program never makes you feel bad or ashamed. I’ve never felt any judgment from anyone when I get or use cards. I also feel very comfortable talking with the staff and that makes it easier to get all kinds of support. They really know my situation and they know about my kids. I also know that the staff are kind people, so I don’t feel shame or fear to approach them.
Stories of strength
Our partnership with I Can for Kids allowed us to ease the financial burden of numerous families, an impact that cannot be understated.
Under current economic conditions, many families struggle to make ends meet, pay rent, or purchase groceries, which can cause significant stress. Through the gift cards, recipients of the cards were empowered to make their own decisions in which to better their circumstances. This extends to wide array of experiences, such as immigrants new to Canada, or those struggling with accessing resources. Our partnership has allowed for greater food security at a time where it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain stability.
The partnership between Miskanawah and I Can for Kids continues to make a significant impact on the wellbeing of so many Indigenous children and youth who access our programs.
Their grocery gift cards promote cultural and emotional autonomy by ensuring families can shop according to their unique needs. During a recent school visit, an older student was couch surfing because his home had just flooded. I offered him support so he could immediately purchase food and hygiene items through the iCAN program. Collaboration with iCAN remains highly crucial in providing desperate families with the dignity, trust, and everyday essentials that would otherwise be completely out of reach.
I was impressed and inspired by your organization’s journey to become the first charity in Canada to transition away from traditional models of food hampers to provide another choice – an income-based response to addressing food insecurity that provides dignity, autonomy and food choice.
I believe this is particularly important in supporting the cultural diversity of Calgarians and CHC residents. I am happy to see that the impact of an income-based response to food insecurity is also being supported through the research findings recently published through the University of Calgary, I hope this continues to inform policy and program solutions to address the ever increasing need to combat food insecurity.
Not only does iCAN’s grocery gift card program relieve stress for parents, but it also provides them with a sense of control and choice to purchase food from a grocery store like everyone else.
iCAN embraced a straightforward concept and brought it to life. I never imagined a grocery gift card could build so much confidence in parents. And when parents feel better about their circumstances, their children thrive!
I Can for Kids ensures the families are able to maintain their independence, identity, and health.
The iCAN grocery gift card program has supported our families in ensuring that they are able to provide healthy and fresh foods for their children when they experience unanticipated costs that severely affect their household food budget. These challenges can include deaths in the family, unexpected bill payments, and other surprise challenges that might stretch their food budget beyond their means. iCAN’s gift cards ensure that the household is able to meet their scarcity needs as they are able and at the level they are able. Without the gift card program, many of our families would have to go without, having significant impact on the children within their households.
Messages of impact
Food for thought
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Empowering families: how our program works
When I Can for Kids (iCAN) initiated our grocery gift card program in 2020, we soon recognized how the income-based nature of our approach led to a greater sense of resilience, trust, and community belonging among families struggling with food insecurity. We also realized that continuing our cross-sector collaboration was key to maximizing our impact. This approach allowed our grassroots charity to reach vulnerable children through a cohesive and centralized response to food insecurity across Calgary and the surrounding area.
Our program offers an experience surrounded in humanity
A father shares his experiences and perspectives of our grocery gift card program after more than a year of accessing support.
Building resilience not dependence
Our recipients and agency partners collaborate with us to maximize the number of families who benefit from our program.
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.
None of that can happen without donors like you.