Grocery Run is a social enterprise which operates with the support of the Multicultural Health Brokers Co-op (MCHB). Using a food rescue model, they collect food that would normally go to waste and distribute it weekly. Their long term goal is to move this in the direction where the system is led and designed by women and the women will be involved in growing food. Grocery Run supports EndPovertyEdmonton Roadmap Action 32, Advance the development and stability of local food system providers through access to appropriate business skill training, mentoring, and capital sources (both for start-up and to scale). Read the full story from the UAlberta news to learn more.
More recently Grocery Run was featured in a recent Edmonton Journal article which highlights the severe state of food insecurity many migrant women experience upon arriving in Edmonton from other countries as immigrants or refugees. The program provides Multicultural Health Broker Cooperative (MCHB) clients with same day food, allowing time for brokers and families to focus on literacy and job skill programs. Still in its infancy, the program continues to seek new food donors, and has a long-term vision of becoming a social enterprise led by women and for women who are new to Canada after experiencing extreme circumstances.
The program, led by Dr. Maria Mayan and PhD student Maira Quintanilha, is a unique partnership between the University of Alberta and the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative (MCHB).