{"id":378663,"date":"2021-12-06T15:28:08","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T12:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-grocery-gift-cards-could-transform-holiday-giving\/"},"modified":"2021-12-06T15:28:08","modified_gmt":"2021-12-06T12:28:08","slug":"how-grocery-gift-cards-could-transform-holiday-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-grocery-gift-cards-could-transform-holiday-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"#How grocery gift cards could transform holiday giving"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#How grocery gift cards could transform holiday giving<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n One foundation in Calgary has shifted from giving food to providing the ability to shop for it. Early signs suggest it serves families better.\n <\/div>\n
\n A trip<\/a> to the local food bank is for many Canadian families a holiday tradition. Parents drive to the store with their kids to purchase bounties of non-perishables to drop off at the local food bank, along with all the fixings for their own dinners, intending to teach their children the importance of giving back.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But for many families on the receiving end, this ritual is neither life-affirming nor edifying. Some travel long distances only to wait in hour-long lines for food that may not suit their religious, cultural or health needs. Others can\u2019t afford the transportation. For many, the experience is imbued with stigma. \u201cWhen you\u2019re just handed things, you\u2019re kind of expected to just take what is given to you,\u201d said one single mom of two that took part in a study conducted by Calgary-based charity I Can For Kids Foundation. \u201cWhen you\u2019re able to go out and [grocery shop and meal plan] it just makes you feel more human.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After distributing food hampers to families across the province for five years, I Can For Kids Foundation<\/a> recently pivoted from food-relief charity to financial-empowerment charity, supplying $50 grocery store gift cards to thousands of families with the aim of targeting the root cause of food insecurity: lack of income. \u201cWe\u2019re not saying [gift cards] are the answer,\u201d says Bobbi Turko, the foundation\u2019s co-founder and executive director. \u201cWhat we are saying is that it\u2019s a far more dignified and inclusive app<\/a>roach to supporting households that are experiencing food insecurity than a food hamper model can be.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Substituting food hampers with purchasing power is part of a broader rethink of how to address hunger across Canada, as food insecurity rates rise, while the longstanding means of addressing it\u2014food banks that depend on supply and Canadians\u2019 ability to give\u2014struggle to keep up.<\/span><\/p>\n

The innovative model in Calgary, though modest in scope, could shed light on the viability of more comprehensive solutions, such as the basic income proposed by the NDP and Green Party during the last election. To help document the experiences of individuals that have accessed the grocery gift card program, 37 recipients participated in a study conducted by the University of Calgary\u2019s Department of Community Health Science<\/a>s, the Cumming School of Medicine and the O\u2019Brien Institute for Public Health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The full results will be released in the New Year, but preliminary findings suggest that supplying low-income families with gift cards relieves financial stress, restores clients\u2019 dignity and autonomy, and improves diet quality. \u201cThere\u2019s this perception that people are poor because they\u2019ve made bad choices and therefore we can\u2019t trust them to make good choices,\u201d says Turko. But the study\u2019s early findings suggest the opposite: parents equipped with gift cards became more likely to buy nutritious food, as their children\u2019s exposure to, and interest in, eating fresh fruits and vegetables grew.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"(I<\/p>\n

(I Can For Kids)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The study also included 17 agency partners (social<\/a> workers, caseworkers, and community facilitators) who serve as intermediaries between the foundation and recipients to ensure those in most need receive support. The laborious process of picking up and dropping off food hampers was often left to these agency partners, yet became so time-consuming that it sidetracked them from their chief responsibilities to offer assistance and support. The switch to grocery gift cards relieved this burden: internal evaluations of the program found the model is a more logistically efficient way for the agency\u2019s<\/span> partners to support their clients.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A greater sense of empowerment was observed in almost every recipient that participated in the study, says Yun Lee, one of the lead researchers from the University of Calgary. Lee is close to tears as she recalls one mother\u2019s gratitude for being able to buy fruit for her kids to eat on a road trip, and another family who fulfilled their childrens\u2019 desire for s\u2019mores while shopping for a camping trip. \u201cThe autonomy to choose the foods that they put in their grocery cards has allowed parents to build special moments,\u201d says Lee.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a demonstration of what additional income can provide, the study\u2019s results are compelling. The foundation plans to donate $44,000 in gift cards during the month of December, all purchased at a discounted rate offered by the participating stores\u2014Co-op, Real Canadian Superstore, Safeway, Save-On-Foods and Sobeys. As the organization works through a long waitlist of families hoping to receive cards, and the results of the initiative become known, Turko is optimistic that Canadians will begin to rethink their charitable giving in the years to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDonating food makes the donor feel good; it doesn\u2019t always make the recipient feel good,\u201d Turko says. \u201cI hope that the results of the study open up a bigger conversation surrounding poverty reduction and that people will be a little more understanding of what people are going through that are experiencing poverty and food insecurity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nathan Sing writes about food security and hunger issues in Canada. This holiday season, he is reporting on innovative initiatives and programs that address the roots of\u00a0 food insecurity, with emphasis on how average Canadians can help.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sing\u2019s one-year position at<\/em>\u00a0Maclean\u2019s\u00a0is funded by the\u00a0Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security<\/a>, in partnership with\u00a0Community Food Centres Canada<\/a>. Email tips and suggestions to\u00a0nathan.sing@macleans.ca.<\/em>
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