‘Most wonderful help’: Calgary mom feeds struggling families during COVID-19

Hundreds of struggling Calgary families are getting some important new support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s all thanks to a hardworking mom out to make sure kids get enough to eat.

“I just wanted to give back to the community,” Holly Peters said. “I’ve struggled, everybody’s struggled, I think especially since the pandemic.”

Peters has been making and distributing meals to people like Lana Ledoux, who was caring for her children and grandchildren when Peters arrived with a food delivery on Friday.

“It’s very tough because the kids stay home (during COVID-19 restrictions) and then there’s a lot of food that they eat, so it’s very hard to keep up,” Ledoux said. “We’re on a low income, so this really helps.”

Peters started her project a couple days into 2022.

“I make all the food myself and then I go around and I drop each bag off.

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“I literally started with two pots of soup and a Facebook post asking if there was anybody in need of meals for their children and I got an overwhelming response.”

Since that first posting on her ‘Feed Our Children’ Facebook page, Peters has delivered 350 meals.

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Hilda Hawkins is among those who’ve benefitted from Peters’ efforts.

“(Our children’s) father just recently lost his job, just before Christmas, so we really are struggling,” Hawkins told Peters on Friday.

“I came across your page and it’s been the most wonderful help.”

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Peters says making a difference for people like Hawkins and her family is rewarding.

“I want to make a community,” Peters said. “We should be coming together in the pandemic.”

The Feed Our Children project has grown far beyond what Peters had envisioned.

“To be honest, I thought it was going to be a one-time thing. I have another business, my husband has a business, I have a daughter, family to take care of,” Peters said. “But once I saw how much of a need there was for it, I couldn’t stop.”

Peters has been covering most of the costs of making the meals herself.

“What I’d really like is for people in the city to come together and help me,” Peters said. “So I could feed more children.”