Food banks in Waterloo-Wellington are getting a big funding boost from the Balsillie Family Foundation. Jim Balsillie, the former CEO of Waterloo-based Research in Motion (later renamed Blackberry), was on hand for the $4.5 million announcement on Tuesday. “Food insecurity is affecting growing numbers of people across Waterloo-Wellington and across Ontario,” he said in a media release. “This investment recognizes both the urgency of the need and the importance of building strong community infrastructure that can help people access healthy food with dignity.” The money will be divided up between the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Cambridge Food Bank, Guelph Food Bank and Centre Wellington Food Bank. According to those organizations, food bank use has more than tripled since 2019. “[In August] alone, we had 54,000 visits to our food hamper program,” Michelle Rickard, with the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, recently told CTV News. Across Waterloo-Wellington, more than 82,000 adults and children access food bank services provided by several different groups. “You can’t triple demands on an organization and assume their facilities and infrastructure can meet that demand,” said Balsillie, who admitted he was a longtime - but anonymous - food bank donor. “The people who run these organizations, they’re such doers. They work hard. They work with integrity and dignity. What they do, they do very, very efficiently. Which, as a donor, pleases you because you want to see impact. But they’re not campaigners for capital.” Balsillie was happy to step up with some much-needed funds. “Everyone’s getting at least a million, some are getting more,” he said. “I said to them, ‘Tell me your plans and tell me what you need.’” When they came back with their ask, Balsillie joked: “Maybe they should have asked for more.” Centre Wellington Curt McQueen, the executive director at the Centre Wellington Food Bank, was “absolutely speechless” when he learned of Balsillie’s donation. Demand, he said, has more than doubled across their service area. “It’s doubling from 160 to 175 years ago, to 350 clients per month,” McQueen explained. “In smaller areas, like Arthur or Mount Forest, they don’t see as many clients. They’re a smaller organization but they’ve seen that doubling as well, or in some cases even greater.” The organization has been working on Well Fed Wellington, a program designed to create more equitable access to healthy food in Wellington County. “It’s an initiative looking at creating multiple pathways to food access, giving people the opportunity to have other options, between the conventional grocery store and emergency food services like food banks,” McQueen said. “We see that as filling a gap so that people who maybe have missed their food bank appointments, or aren’t quite at the level where they need to go to the food bank, but certainly can’t afford nutritious food.” Cambridge At the Cambridge Food Bank, the goal is completion of their new 31,000-square-foot facility at 384 Franklin Boulevard. Guelph The Guelph Food Bank is focused on the future. “Demand has grown dramatically but so has the opportunity to rethink how we respond,” explained operations director Cameron Spence in a media release. “This transformational donation will allow us to invest in the infrastructure we need to feed people today and tomorrow, while strengthening community connections, building practical skills and creating a more resilient community.” Region of Waterloo Waterloo Region is also looking ahead. “What makes this investment especially meaningful is that it allows us to think beyond immediate need and plan for the future,” said Kim Wilhelm, CEO for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. The organization currently works with more than 60 community programs. “It’s going to strengthen that infrastructure, our network, to those agencies,” Wilhelm said. “It’s going to make sure that we can acquire [and] store food safely. It means that we can expand the food that we have coming through our buildings and reach more people.” She described the funding from Balsillie as an “incredible gift.” “This was completely unexpected but we’re so, so incredibly grateful for his trust in us, his support and what this will do for our communities,” Wilhelm said. “It would be so amazing if Jim’s generosity could challenge the community to respond more. I know that there’s so much work that we have to do, and right now I don’t see an end in sight.”
