Calgary’s Meals on Wheels honours Virnetta Anderson’s legacy
Acacia Carol, Layout Editor
Virnetta Anderson has long been commemorated for her legacy in Calgary. As the first Black city councillor — formerly called alderwoman, the official name for female city councillors until 2010 — in the city and the province, Anderson was always looking for ways to become actively engaged with Calgary’s communities.
Through her volunteer work with various churches and charities, and her time on city boards, Anderson noticed a lack of support for seniors facing food insecurity. Esther Elder, CEO of Meals on Wheels, says that finding a solution wasn’t just “nice to have,” it was a lifeline.
Meals on Wheels
That’s where Meals on Wheels was born. Elder says that in the ‘70s, their approach was similar to what they do now, but on a smaller scale. In the beginning, 100 volunteers served hot meals and operated on a sliding-scale payment system.
As co-founder and president of the organisation when it began, Anderson was pivotal in ensuring that the program grew from a small pilot to a citywide service that continues to provide one million meals a year.
Elder credits Anderson’s community-centred approach and principles to Meals on Wheels’ early growth. Anderson adhered to the idea that “dignified nutrition” was an essential piece of community infrastructure, a tenetElder echoes.
Meals on Wheels’ flagship program, the Going Home program, originated from Anderson’s involvement with the United Church. During her volunteer work, Anderson noticed that seniors were not adequately supported in the recovery process. The Going Home program was born out of a need to meet community members where they were, physically and financially.
Delivering daily hot meals remains essential to how Meals on Wheels addresses food insecurity. According to Statistics Canada figures, in 2023, 31.9 per cent of Calgarians lived in food-insecure households.
According to Elder, the need for support has certainly grown in recent years. While their organisation might have started with a focus on seniors, its services have grown to support families, people with disabilities and children in school.
“We know that one in four Calgary households is experiencing food insecurity,” Elder says. “It’s a crisis situation.”
However, Elder believes that Anderson left a strong foundation for supporting the city in the past, so the Meals on Wheels of today is “well-positioned” to help Calgarians. She also believes that Anderson would be proud of the legacy she has left with Meals on Wheels.
Today, part of that legacy has grown to include new programs that fund the thousands of meals Elder and her team provide every day.
With her impact going beyond municipal duties, Anderson’s legacy with Meals on Wheels led to a beloved Calgary tradition: Hot Chocolate Fest. Photo courtesy of Esther Elder, Meals on Wheels
YYC Hot Chocolate Fest
Enter YYC Hot Chocolate Fest, a month-long festival that combines fundraising, competition and innovative drinks. Since 2011, it’s grown to include 170 unique vendors across Calgary, with a recent expansion to include Okotoks as well.
Elder believes that YYC Hot Chocolate Fest is another avenue of pursuing dignified nutrition.
“Different in form, [but] it’s still like that in spirit,” she says. “It’s community-powered. It’s partnership-driven.”
Brittney Edge, the marketing and communications specialist at Meals on Wheels, says Hot Chocolate Fest has grown significantly over the last three years. Last year, they raised $175,000. This year, they want to increase that to $200,000, which would subsidise 40,000 meals for Calgarians.
February is a big month for Meals on Wheels. As they honour the foundation Anderson built for their operations, Elder says it’s important not only to look at the impact she had on their early beginnings, but also at how that impact has grown over 50 years.
“She is an incredibly remarkable woman that I think her legacy is not only in the work and what she achieved, but I also think it’s what she established for young women everywhere,” Elder says.
