Angie Cullingworth previously maintained a supply of granola bars and protein shakes to assist students during reading lessons as they often arrived hungry, as shared in an interview with CBC Radio’s Saskatoon Morning. This realization led Cullingworth to establish the FoodBridge Alliance in 2022, a charitable organization in Saskatoon that gathers surplus food from businesses and creates hampers for families at Vincent Massey and Saint Edwards elementary schools.
The FoodBridge Alliance repurposes food items that would otherwise be discarded, bridging the nutritional gap when school meal programs are not available and addressing local food wastage issues. Inadequate access to meals can hinder children’s academic progress and classroom development, as hunger makes it challenging to concentrate, according to Cullingworth.
Since its inception, the FoodBridge Alliance has observed increased attendance rates, improved academic performance, and enhanced parent involvement at Vincent Massey and Saint Edwards. Families can opt to receive hampers on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis, tailored to their specific household requirements.
Instead of traditional food drives, the charity partners with Second Harvest, a national food rescue network, to source supplies from local grocery stores, restaurants, and caterers seeking to offload excess inventory. The group aims to secure a cargo van and expand its warehouse capacity to serve more students and eventually extend support to all schools in the city while further reducing food wastage.
Volunteers at the Riversdale Community Fridge witness the ongoing food insecurity crisis firsthand, with the fridge quickly emptying after restocking due to increasing demand. Renata Ćosić, co-founder of the Riversdale Community Fridge, highlighted the distressing reality of children frequently relying on the fridge for meals, emphasizing that children should not have to worry about their next meal source.