Imagine walking into a store, picking out all your groceries for the week and not having to worry about facing an expensive bill at the checkout.

For clients of the Regina Food Bank, that will soon be a reality.

Since the pandemic, there has been a spike in food bank users across the country, up 25 per cent in Regina alone. One in eight families — and one in four children — are now food insecure in the city. Of the 16,000 monthly clients, 44 per cent are kids.

The new Regina Food Bank Community Food Hub, modelled after a traditional grocery store, is set to open this summer in the former government liquor store location downtown.

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    6 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Imagine walking into a store, picking out all your groceries for the week and not having to worry about facing an expensive bill at the checkout.

    The hub will give those who rely on the food bank autonomy over what they want to take home to feed their families, rather than being handed standardized items.

    “None of us fit in a box, but that’s what we give our clients today,” said Regina Food Bank vice-president David Froh.

    White first reached out to the food bank for help five years ago, after a shoulder injury left him unable to work.

    Other food banks in Canada have piloted the choice model on a smaller scale, with limited hours and capacity.

    Froh said their two largest growing demographics are people who work full time — now 18 per cent of food bank clients in the city — and new Canadians.

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