By Liam Verster

Daily Bread Program

Daily Bread Program collects and delivers food to non-profit organizations in Grande Prairie

Feb 8, 2020 | 5:00 AM

A local man is doing what he can to help those less fortunate, by collecting and delivering food to local non-profit organizations.

Ken Hoveland started the Daily Bread Program seven months ago when he joined his daughter in volunteering at Everybody Eats in GP at the Rotary House.

He says after seeing how many people are in need of food, he came up with his own plan: collect food that grocery stores were going to throw out, and donate it to those in need.

“I used to be the IT tech for Loblaws, for the Real Canadian Superstore and No Frills. So it was a natural that I go to the No Frills and ask for some help, in giving what they did with the bread leftover at the end of each day.”

Once No Frills was on board, he started soliciting places to drop off the bread. He started with Rotary House and Mission Heights Thrift Store. He decided, since the thrift store was right next to the Horizon Co-Op, to see if they would contribute to the cause as well.

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“[The manager] there was one of the old managers from Real Canadian Superstore, so I had an in there. So I solicited the Co-op and they agreed that they would join the program, and I would just take the bread across the street to the Mission Thrift Store, where if you need a loaf, you take a loaf. And most of the border-income people usually go to the thrift store, and a lot of the homeless are along the corridor there downtown, so it was a natural.”

The program evolved from there, with the Northside Co-Op getting on board, followed by Friendship Donuts, OMG Cupcakes, and Grains Bakery. The program now serves 11 non-profits, Babies First Start, HIV North, Mission Heights Thrift Store, Rotary House, Sunrise House, Rising Above Ministries, both Cool Aid Society locations, Pregnant and Parenting Teens, Friendship Centre, and Odyssey House.

Though he started by collecting loaves of bread, the program has expanded to collect muffins, baked goods like pastries and pies, bread, and more. Hoveland says No Frills has been donating two cases of bananas every Sunday, which he brings to the Rotary House to hand out as part of the Everybody Eats in GP program.

The Daily Bread Program keeps Hoveland busy every day of the week. Twice daily he goes to pick up the baked goods and take them to the non-profits, with a few exceptions.

“Some of the [non-profits] are not open on Saturday. Grains is closed on Sunday and Monday, and Friendship Donuts is closed on Sunday. Several of the places I can’t drop off on Saturday and Sunday. So then a lot of the buns, not the bread, but the buns and the pastries and the treats, pies, and cakes and stuff, I drop off and save until Sunday night, so that we can give them to the homeless in front of the Rotary House.”

Hoveland does most of the work himself, with a little bit of help from his cousin Hazel Polluck, and though he’s used to working alone, he would welcome some extra hands.

“I would really like, if there’s anybody that’s retired or would want to contribute, it takes about an hour and a half or two hours between 10:30 and noon, and then at 4 o’clock again, and they take them to [the organizations]. Then depending on how many (donations) there are at the end of their day, because they’re fresh daily, there’s just a couple of places I can distribute them too. It involves [working] twice a day.”

He says there are other ways people can get involved. He does buy some things to add to the deliveries, like fruit or butter, and if anyone wants to contribute, people can buy a gift card to the grocery stores, and he’ll use it to buy some specialty products. Another way people can get involved is to chip in for gas. Hoveland says he spends about $250 a month on gas, driving between the stores and the non-profits, and would appreciate a few dollars for gas every now and then.

He would also appreciate someone offering to step up and take over the operation, in case he goes on holiday or gets sick.

Hoveland doesn’t have an online presence for people to contact him but will try to connect with Everybody Eats in GP to be able to make contact through their Facebook page.

Hoveland also says he hopes to inspire others, to find ways to give back to those less fortunate. He says there are lots of people who are right on the brink, and just need a little help to get up over the edge. Hoveland adds there are 150 to 200 homeless people in Grande Prairie, and only two organizations trying to help them, so if people can join an organization or find a way to help those less fortunate, it can go a long way.