The James and Lawrence Meier Food for Families Program is a dedicated initiative of the Sask K of C Charitable Foundation that supports food banks and school programs across Saskatchewan in their efforts to combat food insecurity.
Through this fund, with the help of local councils such as Archbishop O’Neill Council #8896 in Regina, the Foundation provides meaningful financial assistance to organizations like the following:
1. Carmichael Outreach
2. Marian Centre – Soup Kitchen
3. REACH
4. Chili for Children
5. Holy Child Parish – Families in Need
Carmichael Outreach is a registered non-profit in Regina. We are committed to creating a low-barrier, judgment-free environment for individuals in our community who face the challenges of poverty, hardship, and substance use. We provide a variety of programs and services to support those who need it most, ensuring that everyone has access to the care and resources they deserve, regardless of their circumstances.
Marian Centre opened in 1966 in response to an invitation by Archbishop Michael O’Neill that Madonna House Apostolate come to Regina to serve the poor in this city.
The people of the Archdiocese of Regina responded overwhelmingly with labour, funds, and materials to convert an abandoned printing shop into a place of refuge and peace. Since then, we have continued to do little things and we praise and celebrate God who touched and changed hearts through it all.
The Marian Centre is a place of encounter between rich and poor, indigenous and non-indigenous, new arrivals to the city and those who have lived their whole lives here. Here we seek to form a community of love and to be a place of encounter. We meet Christ in the poor and in all who come to our doors.
We believe caring for the poor is the duty of every Christian. But more than a duty, it is a privilege, for Christ said: “what you do to the least of my bothers, you do to me”. He invites us to feed him in the hungry and clothe him in the naked. And as we do, we become aware of our own inner poverty and dependence on the Lord for everything. This privilege we share with our many volunteers and benefactors.
Our dining room is on the main floor, and also serves as a recreation area for reading, playing cards, and conversation. We serve a noon meal to men, women and children on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and are open for drop-in hospitality Tuesday mornings, when we also assist men with their clothing requests. There is no charge, no questions asked, no judgements made.
GK Eugene Achtemichuk & FS Paul Ponak (Archbishop O’Neill # 8896) present the Charitable Foundation, Food for Families Meier grant to the Marian Centre (MC)
Regina Education and Action on Community Hunger (REACH) began its service in 1990. REACH began in an office space in Scott Collegiate with an executive director and 2 and a half staff. When the Good Food Box program started in 1997, the boxes were put together in the basement of St. Andrew’s Church. Over the subsequent years, REACH leased space from the food bank and changed locations several times before finally establishing their current home on Osler Street in January 2021. Currently, their team comprises six full-time staff members and more than 50 regular volunteers
Chili for Children began feeding hungry children in 1979. Theresa Stevenson (S.O.M., O.C.) noticed that little school children were wandering the streets during noon hours and were not eating lunch. Regina Indian Community Awareness (RICA) was incorporated as a registered non-profit charity in October 1985. RICA has been providing the families and children of inner-city Regina with many services and programs for 45 years and is preparing for another 45 years of service.
RICA’s most well-known program is the “Chili for Children (C4C)” free hot lunch program. The number of children who have eaten the free hot, nutritious lunches has grown from 10 children to over 1,000 children since its inception. C4C prepares approximately 120,000 meals per school year. RICA also offers free soup and bannock to families with smaller children and anyone else in need of a meal, at the mamawayatitan center on Thursdays, noon.
Food is prepared according to the Canada Food Guide, at the mamawayatitan center, and delivered to three elementary schools in the north central community of Regina, Saskatchewan. The free hot lunch is also offered to high school students at a school in the same area. C4C offers the community, annual ‘special’ dinners at Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Also offered is a daily free food hamper for community members (especially for families with young children) who come to the mamawayatitan center to pick the food hampers.
The Families in Need program commenced several years ago to assist low-income families with food insecurity. Increment cards are purchased, which are used for groceries. The cards are provided to our schools, which then allocate them accordingly. Forty-six cards were purchased in 2025.
This contribution, providing food for those in need, was made possible through the Foundation’s James and Lawrence Meier Food For Families program and our partnerships with Councils throughout Saskatchewan