Since there is no food bank in the community, Kamsack Family Food Security will provide some of the basic food needs of families who have an emergency situation. Kamsack Family Meal Kits aims to improve nutrition for families by teaching how to prepare and cook healthy meals that will encourage long鈥恡erm healthy eating habits.
Both programs are made possible by a grant from the federal Emergency Food Security Fund,
administered by Agriculture and Agri鈥恌ood Canada. The fund has provided $200 million for projects across Canada in the past year as part of COVID鈥�19 assistance measures.
Family Food Security provides food on an as鈥恘eeded basis to families who have been referred to the program through various social service and community agencies in Kamsack, including schools, churches, social services, public health, the town office and others who work with families in need. Any family with children aged 10 and under is eligible, but they must have a physical Kamsack address.
“Until we know what the demand is, and what food supply we will have to distribute, we have to limit it to Kamsack residents only,” Andrea Verigin of the KFRC explained.
The program starts in early June.
“That’s all we can say for sure at this time, because we don’t know when it will end 鈥愨�� when the funding is all used up we will have to stop,” Megan Peters of KFRC pointed out. “We hope to continue well into the fall and maybe to the end of the year.”
Fresh food will be purchased every week, mainly milk, baby formula, eggs, bread, fresh produce, and other food items that can be easily stored and require little preparation. Local retail stores and food producers will be invited to also contribute food to the program.
Once approved to receive emergency food, family members can pick it up at KFRC at the Crowstand Centre on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Before coming to pick up food, they are asked to call 306鈥�542鈥�1010, or call/text 306鈥�590鈥�8070 or 306鈥�590鈥�7535 so staff can arrange for the no-contact curbside pickup.
Kamsack Family Meal Kits provides meal kits consisting of a recipe, the ingredients, and educational information regarding healthy eating and health outcomes for the family. Recipes are for healthy foods that are easy to access locally and easy to prepare for busy families and children. The meal kit information will be available on social media so it is easy to access and will also be provided in printed form with the kit.
“We’re hoping families will keep the recipes and use them over and over, and maybe create their own varieties,” Andrea says.
This program, too, is only available to families with children aged 10 and under who have a physical address in Kamsack. The number of meal kits available each week is limited to 20, so advance registration is required.
Families can register by contacting KFRC on Facebook, or by completing the form on the SIGN website at .
The first sign鈥恥p day is May 31, with the first kits available June 3. Registration must be done before 3:30 p.m. on Mondays and kits will be ready to be picked up Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. Families will be encouraged to pick up their meal kits curbside but they will be delivered if transportation is a barrier.
Kits will be available weekly in June, but that will be reviewed after the first month to make sure staff can handle the demand. Family Meal Kits will not be available in July due to limited staff resources and previously鈥恠cheduled vacations and events, but will resume in August and continue while funding lasts.
The release concluded by saying that updates will be posted on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KamsackFamilyResource, and on www.signyorkton.ca.
