Canadian Food Security - Grassroots Revolution

The Grassroots Revolution encompasses all of GlobalMedic’s innovative methodology and focuses on leveraging volunteer labour and raising awareness through active volunteer participation to serve vulnerable Canadians. Overall, we can fill gaps in systems, the food bank system for example, that already exist in order to reach the greatest number of people.

GlobalMedic has run a number of responses in Canada including responding to wildfires in Fort McMurray in 2016, British Columbia in 2017 and Alberta in 2019, and supporting many Syrian refugees as they arrived in 2016. Most consistently, we support local shelters and health clinics with the distribution of hygiene items and over-the-counter medicines. After evaluating the existing mechanisms we use to fill gaps in the humanitarian sector internationally, we identified areas where we could use these mechanisms domestically.

Before the pandemic, 1 in 8 households or nearly 4 million Canadians across the country were food insecure. In Toronto, this number was even higher with 1 in 5 households experiencing food insecurity. Employment insecurity due to the pandemic has caused those numbers to rise.

The effect of food insecurity is immense, causing increased risk of poor mental and physical health. Food insecure households can have healthcare costs up to 121% higher compared to those who are food secure. Families often have to make the decision to skip meals in order to pay for rent, phone bills and transportation.

The main component of the Grassroot Revolution is our McAntony's Menu program. This program mobilizes volunteers and our existing supply chains in order to create 500g bags of pantry staples like rice, lentils and kidney beans. Volunteers fill these individual bags with food from large 50 lb bags. These bags are boxed up and then delivered to food banks and other support programs to support their clients. Donating food in this way allows us to give a 500g bag of food to a family for a third to a quarter of the retail price. Because we make bulk orders of products in large sizes, we make the most of our buying power. Utilizing volunteers allows the cost of creating this product to remain so low.

Another key aspect to this program is the look of the finished product. We wanted the design for the food packaging donated through the McAntony’s Menu program to look similar to other products you would see in a retail environment. People who are accessing food banks deserve the dignity of choosing from items that are not obviously “charity food”. Therefore, the design does not feature the GlobalMedic name or logo.

McAntony’s Menu is not meant to compete with existing food support services but rather to complement a heavily utilized system. The program is a unique way to think about and approach food donation.

We launched The Grassroots Revolution at the beginning of 2020 and since then have been working to get out as much aid through this program as possible. Much of our impact at the beginning of the program was in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. Through the Grassroots Revolution program, we have delivered 729,646 kg of food.

When you donate to the Grassroots Revolution, your donation will be used to its maximum potential to reach more food insecure families with the support they need today.