‘We are in crisis’: Food Bank Waterloo Region asks for more funding
Posted Oct 20, 2023 07:06:28 AM.
Last Updated Oct 20, 2023 10:29:09 AM.
The Food Bank of Waterloo Region is asking the Region of Waterloo for just under $1.7 million in funding for next year.
This is an increase from the $744,000 they already receive from the region every year. The ask comes as the number of users of the food bank reaches unprecedented levels.
Between June 2022 and June 2023, the number of visits increases 31 per cent. The number of households that use their service is one in 10, an increase from the one in 14 in 2022 and 1 in 20 in 2021.
Kim Wilhelm, the interim chief executive officer (CEO) of the Food Bank Waterloo Region, said the cost of living with high inflation is a contributing factor to the increase in their services.
“As a community and a network, we are in crisis,” said Wilhelm at a regional council meeting on Wednesday. “We are seeing our highest numbers in our nearly 40-year history.”
Over the last year, more than 7,500 household used a food assistance program for the first time, a rise of 113 per cent. 58,000 people used the services of the Community Food Assistance Network last year, with 31 per cent of them being children.
The Food Bank works with 60 organizations across all the cities and townships, supplying food to over 120 programs. Every dollar donated to the Food Bank can provide two meals.
