The Wheatland County Food Bank received a $40 000 grant from the Alberta Government as a part of a continuing government effort to provide $20 million to foodbanks across the province. That initiative was announced in November 2022, and to date $10 million has been granted.

Executive Director of the Wheatland County Food Bank Lynette Aschenbrenner is very grateful for the grant and says it will be a huge help.

"This money alone will allow us to help, probably more than 600-700 hundred individuals in our community that are facing food insecurity," she said. 

"We're very glad to have the support from the government, it's essential with the high cost of living, utilities, and everything that's going on right now that we all work together to fight the rising issue of food insecurity." 

As for what the money will be used for, she said it can be used to buy goods like personal hygiene items, or food items like vegetables and bread that can't be stored for long periods.

Beyond the government support, Aschenbrenner said the community support has been exceptionally strong. While the community support is always great, it's been stronger than usual recently with the recent record-setting donation, as well as other schools like Sacred Heart Academy donating more than 900 items.

Wheatland County Food Bank is one of many food banks involved in the government's food bank support, which up to this point has been split into three streams:

  • Food Bank Grant ($2.8 million):
    • 109 established food banks were provided funding in December 2022.
  • Food Security Grant ($2.9 million):
    • 76 organizations were provided funding of up to $50,000 through an open grant call in January.
  • Donation Matching Grant ($3.4 million):
    • 113 organizations will be provided donation matching funds up to $50,000.

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