Calgary Mustard Seed hit hard by rising costs and increased demand

A Calgary non-profit is struggling to keep up with higher costs and increased demand for its services, as the pressures of inflation mount.

The Mustard Seed has been helping Calgary’s most vulnerable population for 34 years, however, it has seen a decrease in donations in 2022.

Food costs have jumped up dramatically, nearly $250,000 more than the organization budgets for.

Andrew Gusztak, director of volunteer services and street level at the Mustard Seed, says things aren’t looking good.

“On one hand, we’re not surprised more people are coming. On the other hand, we’re having to deal with things like the rising cost of food and more people being there,” Guszak said.

The Mustard Seed is at full capacity, which is an “interesting trend,” according to Gusztak. He says the Seed is usually full during the winter months, with 370 people going in and out, but summer is a different story.

“Our shelter could drop down to 150, 200, or 250 (people) at any given month in the summer. That number is going to fluctuate somewhere in there,” Gusztak said. “This year isn’t unique, it’s a warm year, but usually August is quite nice. And we do see that fluctuation in numbers in our spaces.”

On top of the demand for services, Gusztak says that donations are down compared to previous years. That includes food they receive from donation partners, and Calgarians dropping off food.

“When we are affected by the current food costs and the rise in people visiting and all the rest of it, that’s affecting our other nimble or more nimble programming, which would be dependent on unique donations coming in throughout the year,” Gusztak said.

Gusztak adds some Mustard Seed programs are “up for reevaluation” as money and resources dwindle.

“We got to make [them] work somehow, so, we adjust our budgets there. But, when it comes to the flexibility of our seasonal or unique hospitality program, that’s where we have to kind of change the scope of everything,” Gusztak explained.

He adds volunteers haven’t been showing up as often as years before. He says they haven’t seen a resurgence of people stepping up to help since COVID-19 provincial restrictions were lifted.

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“Much like maybe something like the Stampede or Canada festivities, we were hoping that the Mustard Seed would enjoy a resurgence of the community coming back to us. That hasn’t happened yet,” Gusztak said.

“We’re hoping that Calgarians will once again step up, and they’ve been amazingly supportive financially to the organization. But it would be nice to see the volunteering community activities and engagement really starting to lift off again,” Gusztak said.

Gusztak says they have volunteer opportunities where groups of people can sponsor meals for those at the Mustard Seed. Companies, organizations, and families can put money down for a “meal sponsorship portfolio.”

“That’s a great way to experience what we do. And to have to create a compassionate or emotional kind of experience for yourself and learn some empathy while you’re doing that,” Gusztak said.

People can help by donating food, ideally in bulk, as the it can be cooked for multiple people at once.

Gusztak says food donations, as well as grocery store gift cards, can be dropped off at the shelter, and monetary donations can be made online.