In downtown Regina, Saskatchewan, a quiet but powerful change is unfolding that could redefine how Canada addresses food insecurity. The Regina Food Bank has opened the nation’s first full-scale free grocery store a place where shelves are stocked, carts are ready, and checkout counters stand open for families who will never have to worry about the price tags.

This is the Community Food Hub, also known by its Cree name, asahtowikamik, meaning “food lodge.” It’s a first-of-its-kind project that turns the traditional food bank model on its head. Here, people can shop for what they actually need, choosing from a variety of fresh produce, dairy, grains, and proteins all free of charge.

But beyond the innovation of a free grocery store lies something deeper. For many of Regina’s 16,000 monthly food bank clients, this new hub represents dignity, autonomy, and hope something increasingly rare as the cost of living continues to soar.

Rethinking Food Aid in Canada

The idea behind the Regina Food Bank’s new model is simple but revolutionary: choice matters. For decades, food banks across Canada have relied on the hamper system pre-packed boxes filled with whatever donations happen to be available. While lifesaving for many, this approach often leaves recipients with food they can’t use or don’t want.

David Froh, the vice-president of the Regina Food Bank, explained that the organization wanted to create something that not only met people’s needs but respected their individuality. “None of us fit in a box,” he said. “But that’s what we give our clients today. When you give choices, you give dignity and we actually figure we can feed about 25 percent more people.”

That efficiency comes from reduced waste. When people select their own groceries, less food ends up unused or traded away. Jon White, a long-time client who helped advise the food bank on the project, understands this firsthand. After a workplace injury left him unable to work, he began relying on the food bank for help. “Normally I barter with my neighbors and we swap back and forth,” he said. “But a lot of people don’t do that. So there’s a lot of stuff that just goes to waste.”

The new system, he says, just makes sense for both the people using it and the organization itself. “With something like this, it can only get better,” White said.

From Vision to Reality

The Community Food Hub took years of planning and fundraising to bring to life. The Regina Food Bank purchased the building on Broad Street from the provincial government for $750,000. Transforming it into a fully functional grocery-style food hub cost millions more, and the organization has so far raised about $3.7 million toward a $5 million goal.

What makes that figure remarkable is not just the amount but where it came from. Some donations arrived as corporate checks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, while others came from children’s piggy banks. “It takes gifts large and small to pull off a bold, national first like this,” Froh said.

The food bank operates without government funding for day-to-day expenses, relying instead on private donations and community support. Froh is optimistic that the remaining $220,000 loan on the building will be forgiven by the province, but in the meantime, the organization is forging ahead.

The space itself is designed to feel inviting rather than clinical. Rows of shelves display fresh fruits and vegetables grown in Saskatchewan, local dairy products, eggs, grains, and canned goods. Half of all the food distributed here will come from Saskatchewan producers, from lentils and oats to chicken and canola oil. There’s even a focus on sustainability reducing transportation costs while supporting local farmers.

More Than a Store: A Community Hub

The new facility isn’t just about food. It’s also a space for education, connection, and empowerment. Outside the store, plans are already underway to build a basketball court, outdoor garden, playground, and seating area spaces designed to strengthen the sense of community that’s often lost when people struggle to make ends meet.

The hub will also serve as a learning space. About 5,000 children from Regina schools are expected to visit each year to learn about nutrition, healthy eating, and financial literacy. For many of them, this will be a firsthand lesson in how food systems work and how communities can come together to ensure no one goes hungry.

Currently, the food bank provides snacks and meals to about 2,000 students daily through school programs. Expanding that educational mission through the new hub marks a step toward long-term change.

“When someone comes for help, we just ask a few questions about their source of income and family size,” Froh explained. “Once they’re registered, they can come in every two weeks by appointment. They’ll leave with about $200 worth of food per person.”

That level of personalized service is crucial, particularly for the growing number of clients who are working but still can’t afford groceries. According to the Regina Food Bank, 18 percent of its users are employed full-time, and the number is rising.

A Response to a Growing Crisis

The timing of the Community Food Hub’s opening couldn’t be more urgent. Across Canada, food bank usage has soared since the pandemic, with a 25 percent increase in Regina alone. One in eight families and one in four children in the city are food insecure.

In 2023, the Regina Food Bank served more than 65,000 households a 17 percent increase over the previous year. Nationwide, food insecurity has become one of the country’s most pressing social issues, driven by inflation, stagnant wages, and rising housing costs.

John Bailey, the food bank’s CEO, said the new model offers more than food it offers hope. “It actually increases a sense of food security by five to ten percent,” he said. “People feel less food insecure just by choosing what food they need.”

That psychological impact matters. Dignity and choice restore a sense of control, which is often stripped away by poverty. The name asahtowikamik reflects this philosophy. “Not everybody has the opportunity to have a home fire and meal on a regular,” said project committee member Cadmus Delorme. “Food is medicine. And medicine is going to help heal in the family and the culture and the kinship together.”

Feeding the Future, One Family at a Time

When the store officially opened, Froh described the moment as a dream realized. “When we open, a mother and her children will come visit this facility,” he said. “They’ll be greeted with a smile and walk through a food hub that looks and feels like a grocery store. I hope when they leave, they’ll leave with their heads held high.”

The hub will serve around 200 families a day, in addition to the food bank’s original Winnipeg Street location, which will continue operating. Once the new system reaches full capacity, the goal is to help 25,000 people each month.

In a way, this isn’t just about feeding people. It’s about rewriting the narrative of how communities care for one another. For decades, food banks have been a symbol of charity a safety net for those in crisis. The Community Food Hub transforms that into a model of partnership, inviting clients to participate actively in their own food security.

It also invites the broader community to rethink what giving looks like. Froh hopes families across Regina will start talking about the food bank around their own dinner tables. The idea is simple but powerful: sharing not just food, but understanding.

Lessons for the Rest of Canada

The Regina Food Bank’s approach isn’t entirely unprecedented smaller-scale “choice model” programs have been tested in parts of the United States and Canada. However, they’ve mostly operated within limited hours and small spaces like church basements or community centers.

What makes Regina’s Community Food Hub historic is its scale and ambition. It’s the first in Canada to offer full-time, five-day-a-week access to all registered food bank clients. It’s also designed to serve as a prototype for other communities across the country.

Froh believes this is the future of food banking. “After looking at some similar models in the U.S., it was clear this was the next step,” he said. “When people come here, they’re going to be met with a smile and they’re going to leave with the food they need and that’s awesome.”

Other cities are already watching closely. With food insecurity affecting millions of Canadians, from single parents to working-class families and newcomers, the need for innovation has never been greater. If the Regina model proves successful, it could inspire a nationwide shift toward a more dignified, sustainable approach to food aid.

The Broader Meaning of Dignity

At its core, this story isn’t just about food. It’s about respect, empathy, and the belief that everyone deserves to eat well not merely to survive, but to live with dignity. The Regina Food Bank’s model acknowledges that poverty is not a personal failure but a collective challenge that requires systemic change.

It also reflects a growing recognition that food insecurity is tied to broader issues like housing, employment, and education. Empowering people to make their own choices about what they eat can ripple outward, building confidence and stability in other parts of their lives.

In this sense, the Community Food Hub is as much a social experiment as a charity initiative. It’s testing what happens when we treat people not as recipients of aid, but as neighbors deserving of trust and agency. Early signs suggest it’s working clients feel more comfortable, waste is down, and demand is met more efficiently.

A Community Effort Built on Hope

The success of the Community Food Hub has depended entirely on collective action. Volunteers, local farmers, businesses, and donors of every age and income have played a role. Children have emptied piggy banks, local companies have contributed large sums, and hundreds of residents have offered their time.

This diversity of support underscores one of the project’s key messages: fighting hunger isn’t just the work of food banks it’s the work of communities. When people unite around shared values of compassion and fairness, change becomes not only possible but inevitable.

For many of those involved, the project also carries cultural significance. The use of the Cree name asahtowikamik is a reminder that food, culture, and identity are intertwined. It honors Indigenous traditions of sharing and community, where food is more than sustenance it’s a form of medicine that strengthens relationships and fosters healing.

Looking Ahead

The Regina Food Bank’s new hub is just the beginning. Froh and his team hope the model will spread to other cities across Canada. Each community, of course, will need to adapt the idea to its own needs and resources. But the principle dignity through choice is universal.

The challenge now is sustaining momentum. Raising the remaining funds, keeping shelves stocked, and maintaining operations without government funding will require ongoing public support. Yet Froh remains optimistic. “Every little bit helps,” he said. “We’re asking people to give what they can.”

There’s something profoundly moving about that simplicity. A family’s small donation, a child’s handful of coins, or a corporation’s large check all carry the same message: no one should go hungry, and everyone deserves to feel valued.

A Step Toward a Fairer Future

As food prices continue to climb and economic pressures mount, the story of Regina’s free grocery store feels both inspiring and instructive. It’s a reminder that innovation doesn’t always mean new technology sometimes it means reimagining something as fundamental as how we share food.

The Community Food Hub represents the best of what happens when compassion meets practicality. It’s a space where a mother can choose ingredients for a home-cooked meal, a student can learn about nutrition, and a community can come together around the shared belief that dignity should never depend on income.

In the coming months, thousands of Regina residents will push carts down those aisles, greeted with smiles instead of judgment. They’ll leave not only with groceries but with something far rarer a sense of belonging and pride.

And perhaps, years from now, when free grocery stores stand in cities across the country, people will look back at this moment in Saskatchewan and see it for what it truly is: the beginning of a new way to care for one another.

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