Mike Anderson relies on the Mustard Seed for his only meal each day because he can't afford to buy food. (Ann Sullivan/CBC News)Thousands of Edmontonians who struggle to get enough food to eat are often left without access to a healthy, well-balanced diet.

In one of the wealthiest cities in the country, where Canadians are instructed to eat between five and 10 servings of fruit and vegetables each day, many Edmontonians don't have access to a single serving.

They rely on high-calorie meal replacement drinks or Kraft Dinner to replace high-protein foods and fresh produce.

Many, like Megan Byerley and her family, rely on the Mustard Seed, an inner-city support agency, to provide meals between paydays.

"Here, I'm probably about two weeks out of the month, but the final week is when you'll see me the most here at the Mustard Seed because it's the final week before payday, so it's always harsh on everybody," she said.

Byerley lives in a neighbourhood south of the Mustard Seed, in an area without a supermarket. The only options nearby are fast food or expensive processed food sold at the local gas station.

On payday, Byerley, her husband and infant son take the LRT to stock up at the grocery store.

"Actually we commute down to the Superstore in Clareview. [It takes] 15 minutes to get there [and] about 15 minutes home, so about half an hour there and back altogether. We go home by taxi because we just stock up on everything, we buy in bulk," she said.

"I think [the taxi ride home is] like $29. It's a lot of money but it's worth it."

Grocery stores difficult to access

Byerley is not the only Edmontonian struggling as the grocery business changes.

Since the 1970's, a total of 60 grocery stores have closed in Edmonton, most of them in older and more established neighbourhoods.

While others have opened up to fill the gap, they're increasingly further apart. Most mega-stores are built near the outskirts of town in commercial zones where few people live.

For low-income Albertans who don't own vehicles, that makes a healthy diet nearly impossible.

Residents like Mike Anderson are forced to turn to services like the Mustard Seed to survive.

"I come here pretty much every night now quite simply because with the cost of rent and everything, I can't afford to buy food," he said.

Anderson eats just one meal a day and he counts on the Mustard Seed to provide it — but he is concerned the meals they're providing don't meet his nutritional needs.

"They give you a lot of starches, a lot of simple carbs. Very little protein, though," he said.

"It doesn't have any nutritional value, or very little, and that seems to be their solution to it. It's just, 'Here's a loaf of bread, here's a loaf of bread.' Okay, well that fills the hole, you're not hungry anymore, but nutritionally it's depleting your body of everything else."

Others, like Vince Gagne, rely on high-calorie meal supplement drinks to get them through the day.

Gagne said he simply can't afford to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

"I could probably eat a bit healthier if my budget was a little bit higher," he said.

"There's certain things you've gotta cut out of your meals, like fruits and things, you know? You have to cut costs, you have to cut corners, and usually it ends up being my food."

While many low-income Edmonontians can't afford to purchase healthy foods, Mustard Seed soup kitchen manager Caitlin Beaton said the emphasis on eating well is rubbing off.

"Probably a few years ago people would be going for the pastries," she said.

"I'd say more often people now would go for the apples and oranges. They'd be trying to get extras, in a sense, because they know they don't always have access to that."