Sutton Garner’s heart was forever changed at 11 years old when she discovered that thousands of children in Calgary struggled with food insecurity over the summer months. In 2015, she and her mother, Bobbi Turko, founded I Can for Kids (iCAN) and teamed up with dozens of frontline social service agencies to target free food packs to vulnerable children throughout the holidays. 

But in 2020, the pandemic paralyzed the traditional food provision service model. Undaunted, iCAN immediately shifted to an income-based response to food insecurity based on evidence from experts across Canada. Overnight, this small but mighty charity transformed their service model into Alberta’s first, year-round grocery gift card program. iCAN and their agency partners began to target this more dignified option to families who faced the harsh reality of having too little income to buy enough healthy food. 

iCAN’s new grocery gift card model did not go unnoticed. Researchers from the University of Calgary recognized its potential and embarked on a study to measure its impact. The results were nothing short of remarkable, and have been published in Public Health Nutrition, a leading international journal. 

Grocery gift card recipients experienced major improvements in their nutritional, social, and emotional well-being. The program restored their sense of dignity, confidence, and resilience. Children found renewed inspiration to plan and prepare meals and school lunches. Entire families could breathe a sigh of relief when they could afford to buy enough food that met their unique cultural, religious, and health needs. 

iCAN is eternally grateful to their amazing donors, corporate champions, dedicated volunteers and Board members. Their support has enabled this charity to usher a more efficient and effective way to strengthen the well-being of food-insecure families. Interested in discovering more? Connect with Bobbi!

I Can for Kids

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