Grocery access program rolling into Rossmere

River East

Rossmere

Elmwood

The wheels on a special bus service connecting northeast Winnipeg seniors with access to groceries will keep rolling on, thanks to support from local city councillors and MLAs.

The grocery access program (GAP) initiative aims to provide seniors in the area with regular access to grocery stores. Most of the supermarkets in the area are located on the northern strip of Henderson Highway or near the intersection of Regent Avenue and Lagimodiere Boulevard, so those who live in seniors housing away from those areas, who have mobility issues, or who do not own personal vehicles, often find it difficult to do regular grocery shopping.

The program was launched, initially as a pilot project, last October by Kildonan-River East MLA Rachelle Schott, who teamed up partners including the Transportation Options Network for Seniors, Winnipeg Transit, No Frills, River East Seniors Resource Finder, and Edison Properties. For $6, residents from five seniors living centres can ride the bus to and from McIvor Mall, where they get an hour to do their shopping.

“We didn’t think about this on our own,” Schott said. “This is 100 per cent community driven. I was going into coffee and conversation with seniors, and this is something we heard again and again. ”

Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) has been providing funding for the program, which allows for one bus per month. In Elmwood-East Kildonan, the Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation runs a similar monthly program for seniors in the area, which the late area councillor Jason Schreyer helped get off the ground, with support from Browaty, earlier this year.

“Ensuring seniors can access healthy, affordable groceries is an important part of aging within the community,” Browaty said. “This monthly shuttle will reduce barriers, support independence, and help our older residents stay connected. I’m proud to support this initiative.”

Noting the demand among its members for the service from the get-go, Good Neighbours Active Living Centre (720 Henderson Hwy.) quickly came aboard, effectively managing the project, which now has support from Rossmere’s constituency office as well.

“It’s a team effort,” said Julia Lim, River East seniors resource co-ordinator with Good Neighbours. “But transportation is a huge thing. In River East, we have a huge population of seniors. It’s bus friendly, but it’s still difficult.”

On Nov. 28, Rossmere MLA Tracy Schmidt and Browaty rode along with seniors on a chartered Winnipeg Transit bus, which brought shoppers from local seniors’ living apartments and centres in the area to McIvor Mall (1795 Henderson Hwy.), which has a No Frills grocery store, Rexall Pharmacy, a bakery and other services, to do some shopping.

“One of the first constituency meetings I had as MLA was about this issue,” Schmidt said. “I’m so grateful to the seniors community, who have been advocating for this, and the leadership on this from Rachelle Schott, Jeff Browaty, and the late Jason Schreyer.”

“Our seniors love their independence,” Lim said. “There’s also a social aspect to it. This is a time to go out. We also have volunteers, students from Miles Mac come to help our seniors.”

“That’s one of the most exciting parts, is the intergenerational aspect of this program,” Schmidt said. “The volunteers meet them at No Frills, and help them pack their bags and get on and off the bus. It was heartwarming to see that.”

According to Lim, approximately 20 seniors regularly make use of the program, with a capacity to serve up to 35.

“In order for this to continue, though, we have to have funding,” Lim said. “We’re looking for more partnerships in the community. We want to continue this.”

“This initiative was launched because this was a service that used to be offered for seniors, before COVID. Those services were never restored,” Schmidt said, noting that grocery stores used to cover the costs of such program. “I would call on our grocers in northeast Winnipeg and Manitoba, they saw value in this kind of program, we encourage them to get on board. I think it’s a win-win-win.”