Waterloo Region food banks respond to national report on food bank usage

Visits to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region have increased 160 per cent since 2019. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte has more on the struggle to make ends meet.

A concerning new report from Food Banks Canada suggests increased levels of poverty and hunger are becoming normalized in Canada.

The 2025 HungerCount report shows monthly visits to Canada’s food banks have doubled since 2019 – hitting close to 2.2 million visits in March 2025 alone.

“This is becoming the new normal in Canada and it can’t be,” said Kirstin Beardsley, Food Banks Canada CEO.

At the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, that surge in monthly visits is something they’ve certainly experienced.

“We’re seeing a 160 per cent increase in food bank visits since 2019,” said Kim Wilhelm, CEO at the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

Having a job isn’t a safeguard against food insecurity. The report shows nearly one in five food bank clients are employed.

“Eighteen per cent of [our] food assistance participants in Waterloo Region are employed, but still can’t make ends meet,” said Wilhelm.

Food Banks Canada Research Director Richard Matern says it’s leaving people no choice but to make tough financial decisions.

“People are having to dig into their savings and it’s showing how it’s becoming normalized,” Matern said.

Matern admits there are encouraging signs of financial relief in advance of the federal budget, like promising to support the country’s most vulnerable by making the national school food program permanent.

The Cambridge Food Bank, meanwhile, is highlighting a worrying trend seen in the report – the growing number of children accessing their services.

“More than 30 per cent of our visits are on behalf of children. We served 1,800 children in 2019. So far this year, we’ve served a little over 3,000. That’s an increase of 74 per cent,” said Dianne McLeod, Cambridge Food Bank’s CEO.

McLeod says while the report may be upsetting, it opens the possibility for necessary discussion.

“It allows us to have conversations with our local governments, our provincial and federal leaders, our funders and our community, showing that we really are in an affordability crisis,” said McLeod.

It’s something echoed by the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, especially considering donations are not coming close to meeting the demand.

“The Food Bank of Waterloo Region purchased $2.1 million of food, which is a 48 per cent increase over 2024, and a 466 per cent increase since 2021,” said Wilhelm.

While the food banks are here to ensure the community doesn’t go hungry, they want to get back to a point where their involvement is a short-term emergency, rather than a long-term reality.