Projects & Partnerships

At the Banff Food Bank, we believe that community health starts with our youngest members. That is why we are so proud of our latest initiative: delivering a fresh box of apples to Banff Elementary School every single week.

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Budget-Friendly Cooking & Simple Spanish for Seniors

Are you 55 or older? Come learn how to cook nutritious and delicious meals on a budget! Spice up your Mondays and pick up a fun new skill.

This program is proudly hosted by the Town of Banff in partnership with the Banff and Lake Louise Food Bank.

Starts Monday July 20th, and to register please email: fscc@banff.ca.

Banff Park Church

Do you know that Banff Church has been hosting Banff and lake Louise Food Bank Distributions for many years?

We are incredibly grateful for our wonderful partnership with the Banff Park Church! they have generously hosted the Banff Food Bank, providing a warm, welcoming space for our community. On top of that, their amazing team serves up a delicious warm meal every single week during our food distribution. Thank you for helping us keep Banff nourished and connected! Together, we are stronger.

Wim & Nancy Pauw Foundation

Nourishing Our Community, Together

At the Banff Food Bank, our ability to keep healthy, essential food accessible to everyone in the Bow Valley relies on strong community partnerships. We are deeply grateful to the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation for their generous support as a foundational benefactor.

Through their dedicated funding and commitment to local well-being, the Pauw Foundation directly helps us meet the growing needs of our neighbors—ensuring that individuals and families in Banff have reliable access to nutritious food and care when they need it most.

Together, we are building a healthier, more caring, and resilient community.

RIGHT TO FOOD Organization

Precooked meals for Seniors

While Banff is celebrated as a vibrant mountain destination, an aging segment of our population faces growing isolation and food insecurity. For seniors with severe mobility challenges, visiting a traditional food bank or navigating a kitchen to prepare daily meals is an insurmountable hurdle.

The Right to Food grant directly bridged that gap by funding a targeted meal program. By delivering nutritious, ready-to-eat meals directly to their doorsteps, the Banff Food Bank ensures these seniors can maintain their independence, dignity, and health within the community they helped build.

To maximize impact, we partnered with the Town of Banff. Leveraging their social services expertise, the Town identified residents in greatest need and managed the direct delivery of the meals.

IODE

Do you know the IODE ladies from Banff?

They are an incredible group. The IODE Mount Temple, Banff, members are extremely active in the community. From hot dog sales to harvest luncheons to awarding bursaries, IODE presence is significant.

Thanks to their continuous supply of pampers and baby wipes, local parents and caregivers can count on finding essential hygiene supplies on our shelves whenever they need them. We are deeply grateful to Banff IODE for their enduring care and commitment to the health and comfort of Bow Valley families.

IGA Banff

A market for all

Key Pillars of the Partnership

The In-Store Donation Bin: Located right inside the IGA Banff store, a dedicated collection box allows shoppers to buy extra non-perishable goods—such as canned proteins, pasta, rice, and baby food—and drop them directly into the bin before leaving. This turns routine grocery trips into immediate community aid.
Gift Card Contributions: Beyond customer-driven donations, IGA directly supports the Banff Food Bank by providing gift cards. These gift cards give food bank coordinators the flexibility to purchase fresh produce, dairy, and essential items that aren't easily collected through dry-goods bins.
Dignity and Freshness: IGA's gift card support ensures the food bank can build balanced, nutritious hampers that cater to specific dietary needs or urgent shortages, giving families direct access to quality groceries.

How You Can Support

1. Buy & Drop at IGA

Add high-demand items (like canned meat/fish, peanut butter, chunky soups, or oats) to your cart while shopping at IGA Banff, and drop them into the designated food bank bin near the checkout.

2. Purchase Gift Cards

Consider buying an IGA gift card to donate directly to the Banff Food Bank team, allowing them to restock perishable essentials as needed.

3. Direct Contributions

To volunteer or make monetary donations eligible for tax receipts

Saffron and Chef Dean

Not all heroes wear capes

Some drive the highway between Calgary and Banff to make sure an entire mountain community stays fed.

The partnership between the Banff Food Bank and Chef Dean of Saffron is built on quiet generosity and incredible community spirit. Managing the supply pipeline for a remote, high-cost mountain town is no small feat, but Chef Dean has stepped up to solve one of the regional food bank system's biggest logistical hurdles: getting bulk allotments from Calgary into Banff consistently.

Key Highlights of the Partnership

Monthly Lifeline Deliveries: Every month, Chef Dean personally coordinates and transports the Banff Food Bank’s official Alberta Food Banks allotments directly from Calgary.
Absorbing the Logistics: Highway transport, fuel, and heavy-vehicle logistics are significant expenses. Chef Dean charges only a tiny symbolic fee that doesn't even begin to cover his actual transport and fuel costs, absorbing the rest out of pocket to support the food bank's operational budget.
Reliable Food Security: By ensuring these bulk allotments arrive predictably, local volunteers can keep the pantry shelves stocked with stable groceries for resident families, local workers, and seniors across the Bow Valley.
Community-First Leadership: Beyond running a local kitchen, Chef Dean leads by example, demonstrating how local businesses and culinary professionals can use their resources to give back where it matters most.

Gourlay's Pharmacy

Our Partners in Community Care: Gourlay’s Pharmacy Banff

At the Banff Food Bank, meeting the needs of our neighbours takes a whole community. That is why we are so proud to partner with Gourlay’s Pharmacy Banff.

Gourlay’s Pharmacy generously hosts a dedicated Banff Food Bank donation box right inside their store, giving clients and community members a quick and convenient way to drop in spare cash or monetary gifts while picking up their health and wellness supplies.

Monetary donations collected through in-store donation boxes are a vital lifeline for our operations. Every dollar dropped into the box directly supports:

Fresh Food Purchasing: Buying milk, eggs, fresh produce, and meats to round out balanced food hampers.
Targeted Diet Support: Purchasing specialized items for community members with specific dietary, medical, or cultural needs.
Emergency Relief: Ensuring we can rapidly restock essential items whenever supply runs low during peak seasons.

We are deeply grateful to the team at Gourlay’s Pharmacy for providing this continuous collection point, and to their thoughtful clients whose everyday generosity helps keep Bow Valley families supported year-round.

Visiting Gourlay’s Pharmacy Banff

Next time you drop by Gourlay’s to pick up your prescriptions or healthcare essentials, consider dropping your spare change into the Banff Food Bank collection box near the counter. Every single cent stays local to strengthen our community.

Fairmount Banff Springs

Nourishing the Valley: The Spirit of Partnership Between Fairmont Banff Springs and the Banff Food Bank

In the heart of the Canadian Rockies, community resilience relies on collaboration, empathy, and shared commitment. Among the most impactful local relationships in the Bow Valley is the ongoing partnership between the iconic Fairmont Banff Springs and the Banff Food Bank—a collaboration that transforms hotel traditions and team spirit into essential support for local families and individuals.

The Housekeeping Olympics

Each year, the energy inside the Fairmont Banff Springs reaches a high point during the Housekeeping Olympics, a staff tradition that combines team-building with a powerful community mission. While hotel teams engage in high-energy competition to celebrate the hard work of the operational staff, the event doubles as a major food drive by requiring non-perishable food items for entry and team challenges. This transforms a fun internal tournament into hundreds of pounds of pantry staples delivered directly to the Banff Food Bank.

The Annual Fairmont Food Run

The partnership extends further through the annual Fairmont Food Run, a dedicated yearly effort organized by hotel staff to gather food and financial contributions during critical times of need. Recognizing that mountain resort living carries high everyday costs, the Fairmont team mobilizes its reach to help keep the food bank’s shelves stocked ahead of busy shoulder seasons and winter transitions, ensuring consistent relief for residents facing food insecurity.

Oskar Construction Ltd.

Building Hope Together: The Banff Food Bank & Oskar Construction

When tough operational decisions and heavy demand forced us to look closely at our operations, the Banff Food Bank found an invaluable ally in Oskar Construction. At a critical moment when strict restrictions threatened our ability to serve everyone in need, the founder of Oskar Construction stepped in not just as a supporter, but as a true partner in problem-solving.

Building Hope Together: The Banff Food Bank & Oskar Construction

Strategic Guidance When It Mattered Most

Bringing seasoned business insight and strategic vision, Oskar helped us navigate complex operational shifts. By helping us adapt to an improved distribution model, his guidance ensured that our doors remained open and our services remained accessible to every member of our community without compromise.

Muscle on the Ground

Their support goes far beyond strategy. Every month, when our heavy food allotments arrive from Food Banks Alberta, the crew from Oskar Construction steps up to do the heavy lifting. Sending his team to unload the delivery trucks, Oskar Construction provides the muscle and reliable hands needed to stock our shelves efficiently.

Through strategic guidance and hands-on sweat equity, Oskar Construction embodies the spirit of local community. We are deeply grateful for a partnership that keeps food on the table for our neighbors.

Bow Valley Food Bank

Our kind neighbor that doesn't stop woking and helping the community

At the Banff Food Bank, meeting the essential needs of our community is a collective effort. As demand for food assistance in Banff continues to rise week after week, the unwavering support of our neighbors has become more crucial than ever.

We are deeply grateful for our strong partnership with the Bow Valley Food Bank, whose generosity and collaborative spirit directly strengthen our ability to support local individuals and families facing food insecurity.

How Bow Valley Food Bank Supports Our Mission

Essential In-Kind Donations: From staple pantry items to fresh produce, the Bow Valley Food Bank regularly shares non-perishable food items and vital supplies, ensuring our shelves remain stocked when demand spikes.
Direct Financial Support: Critical monetary contributions help bridge funding gaps, allowing us to source fresh, perishable goods, accommodate dietary needs, and purchase bulk food items efficiently.
Shared Regional Impact: By working together across the valley, we maximize resources, reduce food waste, and ensure relief reaches every household that needs it—swiftly and compassionately.

We are grateful for all information and knowledge share, specially from Cathy Hagan who gave us so many insights and ideas sharing years of experience with us.

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Power of Partnership: How CPKC helps people facing food Insecurity

Since its inaugural journey in 1999, the CPKC Holiday Train has raised more than $28.3 million and collected approximately 5.6 million pounds of food for community food banks in Canada and the U.S.

The Holiday Train ran from Nov. 19 to Dec. 21 for its 27th year of spreading holiday cheer and raising money, food and awareness for people struggling with food insecurity.

CPKC has been helping Banff Food Bank for many years.

The CPKC Holiday Train's arrives in Banff every two years, and brings uone of the region's most impactful community partnerships, bringing vital support to the Banff Food Bank during the highest-demand period of the year.

How the Partnership Directly Supports the Banff Food Bank

100% Local Impact: Every pound of non-perishable food and dollar collected from the public during the Banff stop stays directly in Banff to restock local shelves.

Direct Corporate Grants: Alongside community donations, CPKC presents a substantial direct corporate grant to the Banff Food Bank on stage during the stop.

Banff Airporter

The partnership between the Banff Food Bank and Banff Airporter (the primary airport shuttle service serving Banff and Lake Louise) demonstrates how local businesses can create meaningful community impact regardless of their industry.

Here is an overview of how this partnership works, how it incentivizes donations, and why it serves as a strong model for corporate community engagement:

Key Highlights of the Banff Food Bank & Banff Airporter Partnership

Point-of-Contact Awareness: Banff Airporter leverages its platform—reaching thousands of visitors, residents, and seasonal workers daily—to keep the food bank’s mission visible. Information and donation links are integrated directly into customer booking confirmations, print collaterals, and customer service touchpoints.
Matching Donation Incentive: To magnify the impact of every individual contribution, Banff Airporter offers a matching donation program. When customers or community members contribute, the business matches donations up to a set amount, effectively doubling the financial support received by the food bank.
Low-Barrier Community Support: By connecting with passengers right when they reserve travel, the initiative makes giving simple, accessible, and top-of-mind for visitors wanting to give back to the Bow Valley community.

Strategic Impact & Key Takeaways

Cross-Industry Synergy: You don't need to be in food services or social assistance to support a local food security network. A transportation provider, hotel, or retail store can leverage its customer reach as a powerful fundraising channel.
Matching Funds Drive Action: Donors are significantly more likely to contribute when they know their dollars will be matched, creating higher conversion rates for charitable drives.
Sustaining Local Resources: Banff faces unique economic dynamics where high living costs affect local residents and seasonal staff. Corporate partnerships like this ensure essential support services remain resilient year-round.