We have amazing people fighting for social change in our community, and the Victoria Foundation wants you to hear their stories.
The Vital Victoria Podcast, hosted by Lucky Budd, spotlights people who are working to create a vibrant and caring community for everyone in Greater Victoria and beyond.
From wellness experts to performers, business innovators to champions for causes that matter, this monthly podcast captures the stories of wonderfully diverse, passionate people and the missions that motivate them all.
During each conversation, host Lucky Budd pulls in statistics from the Victoria Foundation’s Vital Signs program to dive deeper into the states of wellness in our region, and how Victoria’s vital people are working to address challenges so everyone can thrive.
Here are some of the inspiring conversations you can listen to on the Vital Victoria Podcast:
Victoria Community Food Hub
The Victoria Community Food Hub is a crucial organization in a giant sustainable food ecosystem working to put farm-fresh grub in the bellies of all Greater Victorians.
Host Lucky Budd chats with Laura Gair and Colleen Popyk – two outstanding people working tirelessly on Food Hub initiatives that bring good food to the capital region’s most vulnerable, while feeding our robust local food economy.
The South Island FarmHub is an online farmer’s market that connects Victorians with boxes of fresh produce from local farmers, and it runs the Farm Bucks program to help subsidize this great food for charities and schools.
Kitchen Connect is a food business incubator and processing facility open to anyone wanting to learn how to start a business and process their food to be sold in stores.
Tune into the Vital Victoria Podcast for a lot more on these incredible initiatives, the faces behind them, and how you can get involved.
Fateh Care Charity
Fateh Care means “winning hearts by caring.” And that’s exactly what Harjas Singh Popli and Dr. Navneet Kaur Popli aim to do by delivering food, clothing and other necessities to people in need, through their family-fun mobile food bank called the Fateh Care Charity.
When the Poplis immigrated to Canada in 2020 on the last flight from India before the COVID-19 shutdowns, they found themselves housebound, without jobs, and in need of a food bank to provide for their family.
A year later, having settled in Victoria, they set their hearts on creating a charitable delivery service of their own that could bring items to those who aren’t as mobile. Since 2021, the charity has been filling bellies, feeding souls, and creating heartfelt connections across Greater Victoria.
Tune into the Vital Victoria Podcast for an inspiring conversation about selflessness, faith, and a love for community.
Soap For Hope Canada
Anne McIntyre says while there are services that provide food and shelter to those in need, hygiene products can often be more of an afterthought. On the Vital Victoria Podcast, she shares the story of her journey building Soap for Hope Canada – one of the country’s only nonprofits dedicated solely to personal hygiene.
Soap for Hope collects gently used and unused hygiene products, linens, and lost and found items from hotels, and redistributes them to the community. The organization now works with over 450 community facilities in B.C. and Alberta to make sure soap gets into the hands of people who need it most.
In this episode, Anne talks about what inspired her to start the organization, how it’s grown over the last eight years, and how the non-profit is helping both people and the environment at the same time.
Find all of the Vital Victoria Podcast episodes on CHEK+, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or by scanning the QR Code below:
