Region of Waterloo doubles food bank funding for 2024

The Region of Waterloo has doubled the amount of money it provides the local food bank, agreeing to give the organization $1.5 million for the coming year – up from $744,000 in the proposed budget.

The decision by councillors during Wednesday budget deliberations was unanimous.

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region says one in 10 households in the region rely on its programs to access food. That’s doubled from one in 20 in 2021. The organization put out a call for increased funding from the region earlier this year.

“This group of people are able to do so much with so little,” Coun. Rob Deutschmann told the meeting. “For $1, you create two meals. It’s incredible the work that they do. So I felt moved that it was important to step up and assist them. We have been providing funding to them for a long period of time but there really was no increase in funding [in previous years].”

In a news release issued after the council decision, the food bank said the increased funding will allow it to expand its reach and provide additional food and resources to those in need.

“Everyone in our community deserves to have food on their tables,” food bank interim CEO Kim Wilhelm said in the release. “As community need continues to rise, an increase in our funding from our local leaders could not have come at a more pivotal time. With this funding, we have an opportunity for our services to reach more households in our community, and meaningfully impact our residents, reducing food insecurity across Waterloo Region.”

Councillors spent time discussing whether to make the increased funding annual. They ultimately decided to make it a one-time increase, with plans to revisit the issue during budget deliberations next year.