Food banks in Waterloo-Wellington are getting a big funding boost from the Balsillie Family Foundation. Jim Balsillie, the former CEO of the Waterloo-based Blackberry, was on hand for the $4.5 million announcement on Tuesday morning. The money will be divided up between the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Cambridge Food Bank, Guelph Food Bank and Centre Wellington Food Bank. “We continue to see record demand [and] an increase in the number of visits,” said Michelle Rickard at the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. “Last month alone, we had 54,000 visits to our food hamper program that’s offered through our food assistance network. We’re seeing families and children more often, accessing those services regularly.” She also addressed a common misconception about those who seek out support. “A lot of people think food insecurity is about food when it’s actually an income problem,” explained Rickard. “We need government policies that invest in people, that they can have improved income, so that they’re able to afford things like food, housing, utilities and transportation.” The $4.5 million is meant to help meet the growing demand on services and address long-term needs. Rickard said some of the money will also be used for local initiatives and campaigns. One of those is Well Fed Wellington, a program based in Fergus that will benefit all of Wellington County. In Guelph, the food bank will focus on increasing “access to healthy food, rescue and process local food and create opportunities for learning and community participation.” The Food Bank of Waterloo Region said their portion will be used for “food procurement, storage, processing and distribution infrastructure” with the aim of boosting their food assistance network. The focus for the Cambridge Food Bank will be the completion of their new 31,000-square-foot facility at 384 Franklin Boulevard. More to come.
