Food Banks Alberta 2025 Conference: Full Schedule

We are thrilled to invite you to join us at the Red Deer Resort & Casino for our annual conference dedicated to addressing food insecurity and exploring innovative ways to support our communities. Throughout the conference, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in keynote sessions, panel discussions, and networking opportunities with like-minded individuals and organizations. Together, we will explore practical strategies to combat hunger, strengthen food banking efforts, and build lasting connections that will help make a positive impact on our province’s most vulnerable.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this important conversation, your voice is crucial in shaping the future of food banks in Alberta.

Let’s come together to create solutions, spark ideas, and build a stronger, more resilient community.

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7:30am MDT

Registration

Tuesday May 6, 2025 7:30am - 8:30am MDT

Lobby

Tuesday May 6, 2025 7:30am - 8:30am MDT
Lobby

8:30am MDT

Opening Remarks & Welcome

Tuesday May 6, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am MDT

9:15am MDT

Feed - From Storage to Service: The Role of Technology in Food Bank Transformation

Tuesday May 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:45am MDT

BR A

Join us for an engaging session that kicks off with a presentation on how smart technology is transforming food bank operations, followed by a panel discussion featuring key voices from the sector. We’ll explore why many existing software solutions don’t fit the unique needs of food banks, examine the operational challenges they face, and share insights from Food Banks Alberta on managing large-scale distribution and Wood Buffalo Food Bank on providing client-centered services. The conversation will also dive into where food banks are heading and the future opportunities technology can unlock—enabling food banks to spend less time managing inventory and more time serving their communities.

Speakers

Jared Fedorchuk

CEO, Levis Tech & Co-Founder of FoodCopia

Will Martin

Warehouse & Logistics Manager, Food Banks Alberta

Tuesday May 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:45am MDT
BR A

9:15am MDT

Lead - Food Banks Canada Grants

Tuesday May 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:45am MDT

BR B

Come learn about the various funding opportunities that Food Banks Canada has to offer to members in the form of Grants! In this workshop you will get tips and tricks to help you write a clear and strong request, and gain valuable insights on the application and review processes of the FBC grants for the upcoming year.

Speakers

Kim Watkins

National Grants Manager, Food Banks Canada

Tuesday May 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:45am MDT
BR B

9:15am MDT

Share - Shopping and Choice Models from Across Alberta

Tuesday May 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:45am MDT

BR C

Join us for an enlightening presentation where our presenters will share insights into their unique models and client experiences. Discover three diverse Shopping/Choice models offered by Medicine Hat, the University of Alberta, and Tofield/Riley. This session aims to inspire you to rethink and potentially transform how your food bank delivers services to your community.

Speakers

Caroline Jones

Tuesday May 6, 2025 9:15am - 10:45am MDT
BR C

10:45am MDT

Break

Tuesday May 6, 2025 10:45am - 11:00am MDT

11:00am MDT

Emergency Response

Tuesday May 6, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm MDT

BR Combined

Emergency events are becoming more frequent across Alberta. Food banks need to be prepared to respond if they are impacted by an emergency. This presentation will provide an overview of the emergency response plan and training program that FBA has developed to support food banks. The presentation will also share information about the role of the FBA Emergency Advisory Group and how this group can help support food banks.

Speakers

Amanda Pochapsky

HSSE

Tuesday May 6, 2025 11:00am - 12:30pm MDT
BR Combined

12:30pm MDT

Lunch

Tuesday May 6, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm MDT

1:30pm MDT

Feed - From Stale to Fresh: Embracing Hydroponic Food Production

Tuesday May 6, 2025 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT

BR A

From Kilowatts to Calories, learn some practical solutions to secure fresh food for your clients and community. Learn about Red Deer Food Banks food production journey and how they are using hydroponics to grow lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, radish, swish chard bok choy, microgreens, mushrooms and more.

Speakers

Sam Patterson

Horticulturist - Food Production Supervisor

Mitch Thomson

Executive Director, Red Deer Food Bank

Tuesday May 6, 2025 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT
BR A

1:30pm MDT

Lead - Equity vs Equality

Tuesday May 6, 2025 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT

BR B

Alberta/Member Made Approach to Increasing the Fairness for the Monthly Food Banks Alberta Allotment Program

Speakers

Anne Smith

Tuesday May 6, 2025 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT
BR B

1:30pm MDT

Share - Newcomers to Canada

Tuesday May 6, 2025 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT

BR C

What benefits can they apply for, when can they apply? (The benefits I talk about are, Canada Child Benefit, GST/HST Credit, Canada Carbon Rebate, Canada Workers Benefit) Where can they find more information on these benefits.

Speakers

Bonnie McIntyre

CVITP and Benefits outreach officer, Indigenous services, CRA/Government of Canada

Tuesday May 6, 2025 1:30pm - 3:00pm MDT
BR C

3:00pm MDT

Break

Tuesday May 6, 2025 3:00pm - 3:15pm MDT

3:15pm MDT

Feed - OH & S

Tuesday May 6, 2025 3:15pm - 4:45pm MDT

BR A

Exploring commonly overlooked OH&S policies that can create significant challenges for food banks when discovered too late. This presentation will focus on proactive strategies to address OH&S issues before they arise and practical steps to ensure warehouse staff remain compliant with safety regulations.

Speakers

Will Martin

Warehouse & Logistics Manager, Food Banks Alberta

Amanda Pochapsky

HSSE

Tuesday May 6, 2025 3:15pm - 4:45pm MDT
BR A

3:15pm MDT

Lead - Theory of Change: How to make food accessible to everyone in our city

Tuesday May 6, 2025 3:15pm - 4:45pm MDT

BR B

Following the Calgary Food Bank's Social Return on Investment Analysis research, we followed up with an organizational Theory of Change project. A theory of change is a framework that allows an organization to align its long-term mission with its activities by articulating the assumptions and the steps required to achieve the desired results. This presentation will talk through the different stages of this process and present our key findings, and will be of interest to anyone who is thinking of establishing a theory of change for their food bank!

Speakers

Lucy Harris

Gorana Jeftic

Tuesday May 6, 2025 3:15pm - 4:45pm MDT
BR B

3:15pm MDT

Share - Volunteer Alberta (Re)Engaged in Context: Research, Recruitment, and Retention

Tuesday May 6, 2025 3:15pm - 4:45pm MDT

BR C

The landscape of volunteerism is changing and we need to change with it. Come join Volunteer Alberta and InWithForward as they soft-launch findings from (Re)Engaged: Volunteerism From The Ground Up, a new ethnographic research trying to better understand and re-imagine the dynamics of volunteerism in Alberta from a ground-up perspective, learning about the motivations, desires, experiences, values, enablers, and obstacles of people who are and aren’t engaged in both formal and informal volunteerism. This presentation will explore this new research while also providing people with some solid, relationship-based volunteer screening strategies for recruitment and retention

Speakers