🥦Canada's first full-scale free grocery store set to open!

Imagine facing food insecurity amid Canada's affordability crisis, and being able to walk into a store and pick out your groceries and not having to hand over any money?

Sounds like a dream too good to be true, but this Regina food bank is making it a reality.

The new Regina Food Bank Community Food Hub, modelled after a traditional grocery store, is set to open this summer in the former government liquor store location downtown.

"None of us fit in a box, but that's what we give our clients today," said Regina Food Bank vice-president David Froh in an interview with CBC. "When you give choices, you give not just dignity, but actually, we figure we can feed about 25 per cent more people."

So how does it work?

When someone comes for help, Froh said the food bank just asks a few questions about their source of income and family size.

Once they're registered with the food bank, they will be able to stop in every two weeks, by appointment.

Food bank clients will then leave with about $200 worth of food, per person.

Froh expects the hub to serve 200 families a day out of the new location, in addition to the clients served out of the food bank's current location, which will remain open. The hope is to help 25,000 people every month once they're at full-capacity.

Froh said their two largest growing demographics are people who work full time — now 18 per cent of food bank clients in the city — and new Canadians.

Froh said he's excited about paving the way with a space that's the first of its kind in Canada, but he said the best part is knowing the impact it will have on clients.

"When people come here, they're going to be met with a smile and they're going to leave with the food they need and that's awesome."