A southern Alberta restaurant is trying to be an agent of change by being the first to join an initiative that allows customers to purchase a meal for someone who is less fortunate.
Cardston Pizza is the pioneering business in the program called “Sharing the Love”.
Owner Iqbal Mohamad said he’s pleased to be part of a campaign that is helping solve an issue in the community that is top of mind.
“It’s a great thing. Somebody’s hungry and you’re helping them out instead of them just walking around and begging somebody.”
As a business owner, Mohammad said he’s seen people in some very desperate situations.
“They’ll probably go into the garbage and try to pick up leftovers from there. They come in here and…I mean you don’t want to see somebody go in the garbage and pick up food.”
Mohammad said whenever he saw someone digging through the trash, he would offer them a slice of pizza on the house.
The initiative was organized less than a week after the Cardston A&W restaurant refused to serve an elderly woman even though another customer agreed to purchase her a meal.
“Sharing the Love” is set up at Cardston Pizza so customers can donate in amounts of $5 to purchase a meal in advance for someone less fortunate.
The donation is put up as a sticky note in the store, and anyone who is less fortunate can redeem the note for a slice of pizza, a pop and a bag of chips.
A Cardston resident came up with the program and points to the fact that the less fortunate don’t have many services in the area.
“There aren’t a lot of options,” Kerry Roberts said. “There is a food bank in Standoff, but transportation is an issue. There is no other food kitchen. So people don’t have a lot of options if they don’t have money of their own to be able to get a meal anywhere.”
She said each restaurant will have its own voucher system.
Roberts and Mohammad say there is a soup kitchen and shelter in Cardston, but note that it is closed during the summer.
Global News reached out to the Blood Tribe – who runs the shelter – for details about the facility, but didn’t immediately receive a response. This story will be updated if a response is received.
The local A&W is also looking at joining the initiative and expect the service to be running within a few weeks.
“We are pleased to be joining this program, which provides a great way for our restaurant and guests to do something positive to help those in need in the community,” said A&W Canada business manager Josée Belzil in an e-mail to Global News.
Mohammed is hoping sharing a little love can help limit or even end panhandling in the city.
“They know that they can get a meal here, so they don’t have to do that. So it’s helping everybody in the community. We’re trying to just build this up so everybody can start this and hopefully this problem can go away,” he said.
He said 17 pre-paid meals have been served in less than a week.
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