‘Nobody in our community should go hungry’: Business Cares Food Drive surpasses 2024 total, despite regional economic challenges

CTV London’s Gerry Dewan with the wrap up to this year’s Business Cares Food Drive.

Organizers put a wrap on the 2025 Business Cares Food Drive Friday (BCFD) morning.

Despite the cloud of economic uncertainty that hangs over the region, they say the community stepped up, reporting food and cash donations equaling 695,000lbs worth of food.

That represents a 1.7 per cent increase over last year’s total.

It was a campaign under a cloud, with U.S. tariff policies further stressing an economy already being throttled by inflation. But Business Cares Food Drive Founder and Chair Wayne Dunn says the community still found a way.

“The community is hurting a bit, but it is more than stepped up. We had people, new organizations and people give and some people couldn’t this year or some less, but it doesn’t matter,” he said.

During a campaign wrap-up event at the Western Fair Agriplex, businesses and community organizations came forward, one after another, with heartfelt stories of challenges and triumphs.

London Home Builders’ Association (LHBA) CEO Jared Zaifman told those gathered that the housing market slowed dramatically but members still found a way to surpass last year’s contribution.

“It’s not been easy. And so, for our members to do what they did this year is just incredible,” he said. “And so happy to report that we beat our goal from last year.”

BCFD committee members spoke of others who stepped up.

Pete Thuss says as the campaign got underway, they found turkeys were in short supply. He wasn’t sure if some families would be able to have a traditional holiday meal. But then he got a call from Sofina foods telling him, “All of the staff at Sophina Foods get a turkey for Christmas. And we have a number of our staff that want to donate those turkeys to the food bank.”

What was at first 10 turkeys ended up being more than 20 as more staff members wanted to contribute.

“You never know how it is going to go in terms of offices giving. You start the year with the tariffs, everybody’s affected by this. Not just people coming to the food bank, it’s the donors as well. And you don’t know what’s going to happen,” London Food Bank Co-Director Jane Roy told CTV News.

Roy says this year the food bank is helping approximately 10 per cent of the region’s population. Food bank officials say demand has increased 75 per cent since 2019.

Roy adds that while the demand has continued to grow, the community has continued to meet the challenge. But she says other solutions need to be found in order to combat poverty.

“What’s actually going to solve it? That I don’t have any answer to, outside of other levels of government coming together, the communities coming together. It’s more money, it’s better jobs. It’s also and those are the things that will really help people get out of what they’re facing,” she said.

London Food Bank Board Chair Laurie Lashbrook says for now, they can be grateful there’s the Business Cares Food Drive.

“Doing it in such a way that’s fun and compassionate. And obviously deeply rooted in the belief that nobody in our community should go hungry,” she says.

As the COVID pandemic ended, the food drive stopped setting a campaign goal and Wayne Dunn says that will likely remain the case.

“I think by putting no pressure on anybody, for all of us, it’s the way to go,” he said.

The 2025 campaign was the 26th year for the Business Cares Food Drive, and next year the London Food Bank marks its 40th year in the community.