I Can for Kids Foundation
Registered Name: I Can for Kids Foundation
Business No: 788073294RR0001
This organization is designated by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as a registered charity. They comply with the CRA's requirements and has been issued a charitable registration number.
Empowering food-insecure children and families with dignified choices to purchase the food that meets their unique needs.
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We used to give food to hungry kids… now we empower families to feed themselves.
I Can for Kids (iCAN) operates an innovative grocery gift card program that represents a major shift in how efficiently and effectively our communities can help food-insecure children and families access enough healthy food. And our work is based on current research.
For over 40 years, giving food to hungry children and families was considered the solution to food insecurity. Yet study after study has shown that this approach is fraught with unintended negative consequences. It dictates what recipients get to eat without giving them much choice or control over their diet. Most importantly, it doesn’t even begin to address the underlying cause: insufficient income. That’s why we stopped giving food. We needed to take a bold step forward.
The success of our model is built on longstanding partnerships with 25 frontline social service agencies who have direct relationships with food-insecure families. We have established the infrastructure and network that we need to target the thousands of children and families at highest risk. And now we support children of ALL ages throughout their developing years.
Our Research
We partnered with the University of Calgary to conduct research on how our new grocery gift card program impacts children and families living with food insecurity. We also collect comprehensive feedback and insights from our frontline agency partners through an annual program evaluation. Additionally, we interview our recipients to learn more about their experiences, perspectives, and recommendations.
100% of our recipients and agency partners prefer the grocery gift card model over a traditional food hamper program. It’s much easier to deliver and access, it prevents food waste, and it has no negative impact on the environment because there is no need for food storage, refrigeration, or transportation.
Our new program is simply more inclusive, flexible, and environmentally responsible.
Our Impact
In difficult times, every dollar counts. iCAN invests 100% of donations to empower food-insecure families to purchase the foods they need. We cover operating expenses through our annual budget to ensure donor contributions reach the children who need support the most.
In 2023, iCAN distributed $645,650 in grocery gift cards to empower thousands of families to feed more than 34,400 children in 203 communities across Calgary and the surrounding area. The majority of these children lived in households at higher risk for food insecurity, such as immigrant, refugee, Indigenous, and single-parent families.
To learn more about our program and the outcomes of our research, please visit www.icanforkids.ca
What people are saying
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Lesley L donated $100.00!
Thanks for giving kids a helping hand!
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