Exciting New Program: BB4CK Family Grocery Card Program – Moving Forward Together is Here!

Introducing the Family Grocery Card Program

This past October, Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids launched a new and exciting program! The BB4CK Family Grocery Card Program (FGC) – Moving Forward Together is built on the learnings from our most recent grocery card pilot program. The new FGC will span over 3.5 years. Over the duration of the program, we will support 300 families. Participating families in Calgary experiencing food insecurity and with school-aged children receive a $150 grocery card per month/per child, to a maximum of $450. FGC is not an open registration program, we enroll families recommended by partner schools.  

Building Connections and Empowering Families

Beyond receiving grocery cards, families have ongoing opportunities to meaningfully connect with each other and with BB4CK through monthly community conversations, focus groups and supportive connections with the BB4CK Family Engagement Coordinator.

The program is designed and delivered using a participatory approach. Families have opportunities to provide ongoing feedback through participation in the BB4CK Peer Advisory Council (PAC) and various focus groups and evaluation touchpoints.

We engage and support families with family-driven wraparound supports throughout the duration of the 9-month program. Based on learnings from our previous grocery card pilot, these wraparound supports will be emphasized at the 6-month mark of the program for each family, when we learned during pilot that there was a significant stress reduction. These wraparound supports aim to sustain the positive impacts of the grocery cards around reduced food insecurity and stress reduction as they transition participants out of the program in a kind way.

Advocating for Change Together

We will use learnings from this program to advocate for change in the Calgary emergency food assistance sector and beyond. We will use our platform to create change in our food assistance methods, refine how we understand dignity and also speak to the root cause of food insecurity as poverty. We will tell stories and work to build families’ capacity and empowerment so that families can share their own stories to advocate for change.

This program represents BB4CK’s commitment to continual learning, reflection, and reimagining how we work with families. We are dedicated to slowing down, listening deeply, and responding thoughtfully to the complex challenges of food insecurity, ensuring our efforts create lasting, meaningful impact.

Together, we can move forward and build a stronger, more supportive community for all families in Calgary.