REGINA — For the next several months, Good Food Boxes from Regina Education and Action on Community Hunger (REACH) will be delivered to SOFIA House to support women and children at the shelter.
Lauren Dahnke, executive director of SOFIA House, said upwards of $10,000 from an anonymous donor is behind the charitable action.
“We talked with them prior about what our needs were and how we can be helped, and they decided to focus on food insecurity. So, our first pick-up is 80 Good Food Boxes. Then, the donations will continue with biweekly pickups of 10 boxes until the end of the year.”
The Good Food Boxes provided by REACH contain a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and are offered at prices lower than standard retail costs.
Dahnke said this will help the SOFIA House ensure food is always available at their shelter for families, which often runs out quickly.
“It's not shortly after our fridges or pantries are filled that they're empty again, but that's because we serve 39 families and at any given time between 80 and 100 children.”
With this donation, Dahnke said it means families can pivot where their income goes.
“This will mean that money can be spent elsewhere, or for some families, this might mean that they have a more concrete and reliable source of food in their fridge.”
Having a sufficient amount of food will also help ensure families can focus on transitioning out of the shelter.
“Food is crucial. Kids aren't able to learn if they're hungry, and residents aren't able to work on their recovery or work on stability or their journey of healing if they're hungry,” said Dahnke.
When it comes to operating costs, Dahnke said the donation, combined with more than $93,000 raised through the Smile Cookie campaign, will help SOFIA House evaluate and strengthen its operations.
“We're looking at different ways that we can amplify the services we're already offering, but also look at different things that we can be offering to provide more stability to our overall operations so that we can continue to sustain what we're doing now.”
Looking ahead, Dahnke said future partnerships with REACH are on the table.
“We're exploring a couple of different opportunities, some that would be specific for our children's programs, some that are specific to all the residents at SOFIA House. And so, looking at collaborating on different kinds of funding opportunities, but also utilizing the services that they offer to the community and extending that over to the residents."
