Co-op is pitching in to help expand the Interfaith Food Bank Society of Lethbridge, The Society of Grasslands Naturalists in Medicine Hat and the Redcliff Scout and Guide Building Association in Redcliff.

The Society of Grasslands Naturalists in Medicine Hat and the Redcliff Scout and Guide Building Association and Lethbridge Interfaith Food Bank Society have received a combined $325,500 through Co-op Community Spaces, a funding program supporting recreation, environmental conservation and urban agriculture projects.

• The Society of Grasslands Naturalists ($150,000) is renovating the interpretive centre at Police Point Park in Medicine Hat. Upgrades to the floor, doorways and washrooms will make the facility — which hasn’t been updated since its construction in 1982 — more accommodating to all members of the community, ensuring it remains an important community hub long into the future.
• Redcliff Scout and Guide Building Association ($25,500) is upgrading the kitchen in its building, replacing old furnaces and well-worn kitchen countertops, drawers and doors. Once renovations are complete, the facility will be better able to accommodate the community’s Scout and Guide groups, as well as other community members who use the facility.
• Lethbridge Interfaith Food Bank Society ($150,000) is developing a vacant space in its facility, turning it into a community room and commercial kitchen. The new space will be used by the food bank’s local partners to provide complementary programming, accommodate guests and serve families in need.
  

In 2017 — with Canada 150 just around the corner — individual projects were eligible to receive up to $150,000 through Co-op Community Spaces.

In total, 27 groups across Western Canada received a combined $2 million through the program this year. This includes three organizations in southern Alberta — Lethbridge Interfaith Food Bank, the Society of Grasslands Naturalists in Medicine Hat and the Redcliff Scout and Guide Building Association.

Since launching in 2015, Co-op Community Spaces has provided $4.5 million to more than 60 projects across B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

“Co-op Community Spaces is an exciting program that is making a difference across Western Canada and we’re delighted to see it come to our region,” said Mike Clement, Chief Executive Officer with South Country Co-op. “South Country Co-op is supported and owned by members and customers throughout southern Alberta, so it’s important that we give back and make investments in our community and people, which is what Co-op Community Spaces is all about.”

Co-op Community Spaces is administered by Federated Co-operatives Limited on behalf of more than 190 independent retail co-operatives across Western Canada that form the Co-operative Retailing System. For more information, including complete details about the 2017 Co-op Community Spaces projects, see www.communityspaces.ca.

South County Co-op is a retail co-operative that has proudly served Southern Alberta for more than 60 years. Today, South Country Co-op serves more than 62,000 members — and many more customers — in Southern Alberta where it operates 58 locations.

For more information:

Carmen Hudson
Advertising and Community Relations Manager
South Country Co-op
Phone: 403-528-6600
Email: c.hudson@sccoop.ca