The RFP is a community initiative that went from an idea to a passion project over night. The goal of the initiative is to help create easier access to food for those in the community who may need some support. Together we can make Ranchlands even stronger!
The RFP is still only in its infancy and thus may grow and change as required to fit the needs of the community! Currently we collect donations to maintain a pantry and build hampers for residents in need based on their individual requirements. We hope to be able to expand our program in the future so stay tuned for updates!
TO REQUEST A HAMPER:
Please fill in and submit the form located here. Information is collected to allow adequate hampers to be built and will not be shared by the RCA. Please allow two business days for us to process and build a care package for you.
DONATIONS DETAILS
Please bring your donations to the Ranchlands Community Center. Donations can be left in our lobby donation bin on Wednesdays from 4pm to 6pm when YYCGrowers has their pop-up market in the front lobby. For drop off times outside this window, please email the office or give us a call to set up a time that works for you.
We also will be running special donation drives throughout the year so keep an eye on our facebook for details.
At this time we are only looking for non-perishables, or dry house hold goods. Please do not bring any open, expired or homemade goods as we are unfortunately unable to use these.
We currently are in the greatest need of:
✅ Soups/Quick Meal items:
– Canned or boxed meal-type soups
– Canned pasta
– Boxed pasta, rice dishes, side dishes and meals
✅ School Lunch items:
– Applesauce
– Granola bars
– Fruit bars
– Canned fruit
– Cookies
– Crackers
– Pudding / Jello cups
✅ Breakfast items:
– Boxed or bagged cereals
– Instant oatmeal
– Pancake mixes/syrups
✅ Pantry Staples:
– Peanut/nut butter
– Salt
– Sugar
– Flour
– Cooking Oil
– Stuffing mixes
– Instant potatoes
– Rice
– Canned meat and fish
– Canned beans
– Canned tomatoes
– Dessert items (pudding, jello mixes, pie mix, pie crust mix, cake mixes)
– Canned vegetables
– Instant coffee, tea, hot cocoa powder
✅ Toiletries:
– Feminine Hygiene Products
– Facial tissue
– Toilet tissue
– Paper towels
– Liquid hand/body soap
– Toothpaste
– Dental floss
– Shampoo/conditioner
✅ Cleaning Products:
– Dish soap
*** Please note we are no longer collecting baby items such as diapers, wipes, formula and baby food as we don’t have a demand for these in our hamper requests. If you have some of these to donate, the Calgary Food Bank accepts these items (including open packages of diapers) and has a drop off bin located in the AHS – Northwest Community Health Centre at 109, 1829 Ranchlands Blvd NW (in the DQ complex) ***
The RCA also accepts monetary donations or gift cards that are used to purchase items we are lacking. Please contact the hall at ranchlandscommunity@outlook.com for more information on this part of the program.
TAX RECEIPT
Donations of $20 or more to the Ranchlands Food Pantry are now eligible for a tax donation receipt, whether you give cash, gift cards or food items. In order to qualify, you must include your full name and address as well as the purchase receipt for any gift card or food donations. Expired food items can not be credited. Donations will be processed and a tax receipt will be issued and mailed to you the following month. For more information, please contact the office.
TO REQUEST A HAMPER:
Please fill in and submit the form located here. Information is collected to allow adequate hampers to be built and will not be shared by the RCA. Please allow two business days for us to process and build a care package for you.
RFP FOOD SAFETY PRACTICES
In order to prevent unnecessary food waste and ensure we can help the most residents, the Ranchlands Food Pantry has chosen to adopt the same policy on “Best Before” dates as the Calgary Food Bank. This policy, which is in line with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s recommendations, notes that “Best Before” dates are not regulated and shelf stable goods that have passed this date remain safe and nutritional, only suffering minimal loss to flavor or texture. Expiry dates will always be followed and any open or damaged items will be discarded, but for canned and dry goods, the following policy will apply:
- Dry goods are acceptable for up to 6 months past “best before” date
- Canned goods are acceptable for up to 18 months past “best before” date
- Dry pasta is always accepted regardless of “best before” date
On some occasions when we receive large packages of dry goods, such as large bags of flour, we may repackage this into smaller sized containers so we can benefit multiple households. Under these circumstances, volunteers will open and re-package dry goods in the Ranchlands Community Association AHS approved kitchen, following all safe food handling practices. Packages will be clearly labelled with the product information as well as the date of repackaging.