Building Food Dignity: Seniors, Culture, and Community Action

On October 22, 2025, community came together to talk about something that connects us all — food, dignity, and aging. The session brought forward powerful voices from local community groups and organizations who are tackling food insecurity among seniors with compassion and creativity. This session was one of numerous sessions to mobilize knowledge from the community to inform the work of the Food Security and Food Justice Edmonton Collaborative supported by the City of Edmonton Community Safety and Well-Being Grant.


From Food Banks to Food Sovereignty

The first speaker, Ali Hammington, shared her journey from running the Bethel Pantry during the pandemic, to utilizing the Alberta Avenue Community Garden to build a “food jungle” in her community and emphasized the power of community gardening as a dignified, inclusive food model. She described how current food aid models can strip people of dignity, recalling one senior’s humiliating experience of being shamed for seeking help from multiple food sources — which sparked reflection on the system’s flaws and calls for change of these models. 

Ali shared how seniors and other community members engaged in their community garden are able to contribute and in return, share in the garden’s bounty, giving dignity and access for folks to locally grown food:

“Because you are participating, you are not receiving charity,” Ali said. “You are creating this as part of your community.”

Her story and perspective showcased how collective gardening can transform not just diets, but relationships and belonging.

Centering Culture and Compassion

Next, Ambreen Ahmed of the Council of Muslims Aging Gracefully (COMAG) highlighted the unique challenges faced by Muslim seniors. Highlights included lack of culturally appropriate food available at food banks, navigating dietary restrictions in care homes and combatting loneliness and social isolation. Ambreen highlighted that Edmonton community numbers over 100,000 Muslims, comprising over 62 cultures. Of this, 6.4% are 65+, facing challenges like isolation, income limitations, and discrimination, especially for Muslim women.

COMAG’s award-winning programs, like Ramadan and Eid food baskets, senior support and visitation programs, senior fairs, and intergenerational cooking project partnerships, bring cultural and spiritual care to the forefront of senior well-being. Her message was clear: culturally appropriate food isn’t a luxury, it is a tool for healthy aging — and essential to dignity and inclusion..


Nutrition, Health, and Equity

Shyvonne Darby, a public health dietitian with Alberta Health Services, provided perspective on malnutrition and food insecurity, emphasizing that food insecurity is more than an empty fridge — it’s a public health crisis. One in four Albertan households struggles to afford enough food, and malnutrition among seniors is rising. These issues are intertwined with issues of income, housing and equity and there are strong links with financial strain, chronic illness, and malnutrition. She shared AHS resources and tools throughout her presentation, which help communities identify and address risk before it becomes a crisis. These tools and resources are meant to create dignity-based, strength-focused community collaboration. See some of the resources shared below:

Grassroots Solutions and Shared Responsibility

Finally, Jimmy Morrison from Operation Friendship Senior Society described how COVID reshaped food access for inner-city seniors. With fewer programs, volunteer hesitancy and tighter budgets, his organization pivoted — growing gardens, and partnering with groups like Leftovers Foundation, COBS Bread, and Save-On Foods to redistribute surplus food. Innovative solutions like this showcase the power of community-based solutions that continue to support food security and food rescue efforts. As he wrapped up, Jimmy urged compassion and human connection as central to addressing poverty.

“Poverty isn’t just homelessness,” Jimmy said. “It’s living paycheck to paycheck — and any one of us could be there.”


Where Do We Go from Here?

In the discussion that followed, participants called for systemic change — higher income supports, accessibility and transportation to access local food supports, sustainable funding for senior programs, and policy reform to reduce food waste and promote culturally appropriate meals. The message across all voices was simple but urgent: food is not charity; it is a human right. Dignity grows where communities plant, share, and act together.

Calls to Action

Policy-Level:

  1. Income Reform: Raise social assistance and senior benefits to match living costs.

  2. Sustainable Funding: Ensure predictable, long-term funding for community food programs.

  3. Policy Collaboration: Establish provincial and municipal food policy councils that include seniors.

  4. Food Donation Reform: Update Alberta’s food donation and safety guidelines to reduce waste.

  5. Care & Dignity in Aging: Alberta Health Services should implement cultural food access in care facilities.

Community-Level:

  1. Build Partnerships: Engage grocery stores, restaurants, and caterers to redirect excess food.

  2. Promote Dignity-Based Models: Support gardens, collective kitchens, and culturally relevant programs. For example, Meals on Wheels Edmonton is looking to expand their meal program to include culturally appropriate options.

  3. Amplify Senior Voices: Include older adults — especially from diverse backgrounds — in policy and program design.

  4. Expand Education: Share public resources like AHS’s Healthy Eating Starts Here and local advocacy materials.

  5. Collaborative Advocacy: Strengthen and amplify our collective voices for change and calls for a National Food Strategy Action Plan. The FSFJE project is working to build cross-agency and community partnerships across Alberta to amplify a provincial advocacy strategy.

  6. Community Collaboration: The FSFJE project is utilizing tools such as a WhatsApp group, and developing a Food Asset Map.

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