History of the Medicine Hat and District Food Bank
Who We Are
Most of us do not see them ...... the low income, part time employees whose apartment rental absorbs most of their monthly pay cheques; the homeless kids; the unemployed who are waiting for employment insurance or social assistance benefits or the women from the Women’s Shelter ......... but several compassionate people did.
In the summer of 1985 several men and women got together informally around a kitchen table to talk about their concerns for people in need. They wanted to help in areas where there was no present help and to care for those in need of care.
As of November 15/85, Fifth Avenue United Church gave out Food Hampers instead of Food Vouchers when people in need came to the Church for help. This was the beginning of the Fifth Avenue United Church Food Bank.
On Nov 14/85 ten hampers were packed containing cereal, sugar, juice, coffee, tea, crackers, cans of vegetable and tomato soups, packed of chicken noodle soup, cans of pork and beans, corn, peas and carrots, package of macaroni and cheese, tin of meat, loaf of bread, and margarine at a cost of approximately $13.00 per hamper. The congregation soon began making donations towards the hampers and by February, 1986, they were able to pack 13 hampers at a cost of approximately $6.00 per hamper. At the same time the demand for hampers were increasing rapidly. By July 1986 approximately 40 hampers a month were provided and 480 were given out for the full year.
An appeal for donations and financial assistance was made to other churches and organizations. The response was excellent and money donations were set up in a separate account and not a part of the church budget. Fifth Avenue United Church administered all the funds. Among the first supporters were many individuals from the community, the United Church’s in the area, Fifth Avenue, Westminster, Memorial Salem, Peace United Irvine, Gordon Memorial United Church, Redcliff, The Royal Canadian Legion, The Santa Clause Fund, Beta Sigma Phi and the Rotary Club.
Dr Clarence Smith, being aware of the needs of the hungry and the homeless in the city felt a need to help those who were falling through the cracks. In Sept 1987 a meeting was held and the areas of concern were addressed regarding the need for food banks, hostel’s, hot meal kitchens, homeless children, refugees and immigrants. Jan 1988 the name was chosen for the unofficial charitable organization and the Society of Neighbors was born.
In 1990 an appeal for funds was sent out to service clubs. Clarence Smith and Alan Hunt attended a City Council meeting to solicit a donation of land in order to construct a much needed root cellar. The City was very helpful in assisting the Society in locating a site for the root cellar and the Lions Club donated $5000.00 for the project. The root cellar was constructed and used by the Food Bank, Salvation Army and several churches’.
The demand increased over the years to 600 hampers in 1988, 1131 hampers in 1990, 1740 hampers in 1991. More volunteers and organizations got involved with the rising numbers and Christmas hampers were also distributed. It was decided that the Society of Neighbors would be broken down into four groups governed under the Society and the Umbrella Society was formed. The Umbrella Society now consists of the Medicine Hat and District Food Bank, the Neighborhood Kitchen and the Society of Neighbors. Then in June 2000 there was another amalgamation of all 3 parties to create 1 society known as Medicine Hat and District Food Bank (1992) Association.
In 1992 the Outreach Committee formalized the amalgamation, a new Board of Directors for the Food Bank and the official change of name to Medicine Hat and District Food Bank (1992) Association, revision of By-Laws, receipt of Incorporation and a registered charitable number for the Food Bank. In 1992 1187 households, included 199 adults and 180 children were served a total of 2466 hampers, $950.00 was given in coupons, and the value of vouchers totaled $3,292.61.
In anticipation of the Food Bank moving out of the church, every effort was made by a few key people, Dr. Clarence Smith, Allen Hunt and Mr. Bob Strachan throughout 1991 to 1993 to obtain a suitable building for the Food Bank. Finally in 1993 the building at 532 South Railway Street SE was purchased. After renovations the Food Bank officially opened on October 8, 1993. At this time they were dealing with all the services for the clients but the main focus was on the food distribution.
