For Ladyne, The Alex Community Food Centre (CFC) is about learning and sharing with others.

“When I first visited, it felt like home. And since then, I’ve not stopped coming. The CFC is not only about the food, it’s about being human. It’s about being listened to, receiving support and feeling hopeful.”

Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ladyne moved to Calgary as a single mother with five girls. While studying to become a child and youth service worker, she completed her practicum at The Alex CFC, where she found support and a caring community.

There, Ladyne strengthened her cooking skills as well as learned how to plan meals on a budget. She later completed Community Action Training, where she learned about local resources and how to advocate for herself and others in her neighbourhood. She found friends and a sense of belonging. When her journey led to the creation of her own non-profit, the CFC became her “home base” for advice on how to get started. The community and support she found gave her the confidence she needed to move forward.

At Right To Food, we’ve always known that food brings people together. But over time, we’ve come to understand just how powerful that connection can be, and how central it is to the work we do.

Community, connection, and support are recurring themes when participants tell the story about their experience at CFCs. In our most recent survey, 93% of respondents said they feel like they belong to a community, and 72% said they’ve made new friends. Almost two-thirds of those made close friends—people they trust, speak to about what is on their mind, or call on for help. This creates a network of care in both the good and difficult times.

Later this year, we will sit down to talk to nearly 1,000 CFC participants across Canada to learn about the impact that their CFC has had on their lives. We are hopeful to meet many others like Ladyne.