REGINA - Regina Food Bank volunteers and Regina residents are taking part in the Mosaic Meal Mile at Mosaic Stadium on Tuesday.
The event is part of the Regina Food Bank Mosaic Meal Challenge in October, with the goal of raising 1 million meals to give back to the community.
Regina Food Bank CEO John Bailey spoke about the details of the event. “So this is the sort of capstone event of the Mosaic Meal Meal Challenge. We're gonna have crews of volunteers and donors coming through and dropping off basically food items to make a [line of] meals.”
This year marks the fifth year for the Mosaic Meal Challenge and the first for the Mosaic Meal Mile.
The original plan of the event was for a line of meals to go around Mosaic Stadium's concourse, but due to weather conditions, the event will instead keep meals underground.
Bailey said the Regina Food Bank is confident in meeting the 1 million meals goal for the challenge, but he did note the rise in food insecurity is causing the food bank to lag behind from a growing demand of services.
“We talk a lot about the rise in demand, we're up another 20-odd per cent from last year, and with the opening of the community food hub, we're seeing more people coming through. Because quite frankly, we're able to open up more opportunities.” He added, “We know that our food bank will serve 21,000 people in our city this year over well over 200,000 points service, which means the average person comes to the food bank about 10 times, and we also know that's not meeting the full need of the community.”
Adding to those numbers, since 2019, the Regina Food Bank has seen a 23 per cent increase in service deliveries. Bailey believes the support from the community will ensure the Regina Food Bank aids those in need.
“We're so grateful and so proud of our community for stepping up again. Our ability to deliver increases of 23 per cent in terms of demand does not happen with our community, and we're eternally grateful, and we know. It's the Regina way.”
He also emphasized the importance of teams, including the Regina Pats and Saskatchewan Roughriders, backing the food bank.
“So for that connection [with the Regina Pats and Saskatchewan Roughriders] to carry over into to support in our neighbours through food, which ultimately is the ultimate connection. And it provides a real large boost.”
Folks who want to support the Mosaic Meal Mile can bring down food at Mosaic Stadium throughout the day. Bailey said the most important food donations are pasta, pasta sauces, canned proteins, canned fruits and canned vegetables. However, he did note every non-perishable, shelf-stable donation, in general, goes a long way.
People also can donate money to the Regina Food Bank. For every dollar donated, the Regina Food Bank matches that amount with six meals. The food bank also accepts donations of up to $75,000.
