New partnership aims to address food insecurity in Waterloo Region

A new project in Waterloo Region is helping to put more protein on the table for families in need.

Two charitable organizations are teaming up to take on food insecurity.

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region says 73,000 residents are struggling to put food on the table and the problem is only expected to worsen as gas and grocery prices climb higher.

To meet the growing need in the community, they have partnered with MCC Ontario.

“Demand is at the highest that we’ve seen it in the history of the food bank,” said Jaime Bickerton with the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. “We’re seeing more families having to access [the food bank] more frequently. It’s become less of an emergency kind of solution and more of an ongoing way that people are feeding their families.”

Over the next three years, their New Hamburg facility will produce 28,000 cans of pre-cooked chicken annually for the food bank, thanks to a $600,000 commitment from the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation.

“Go into any grocery store and you’ll see that prices are getting very high and it’s getting harder and harder to actually source chicken and poultry,” said Jon Lebold, a material resources coordinator with MCC Ontario. “We’re so grateful that we’re actually able to help right here in our in our own backyard.”

The cans, which have five-year shelf life, contain all-Canadian meat. Production typically runs two to three days a week, with 10 volunteers working from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. They produce roughly 1,000 cans per day and each one costs about $7 to produce. Volunteers are also responsible for raising funds to support the facility’s daily operations.

On Monday, teams loaded a truck with the first cases bound for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. They also gave the media a first-hand look at the canning process, including the large pressure cookers, or retorts, used to cook the chicken.

The shipment included 42 boxes, with 24 cans in each, and will be distributed locally through the food bank’s partner organizations.

“We have 61 partners across the Community Food Assistance Network. So, there’s a variety of programs that support individuals, families and children,” Bickerton said. “This product will directly impact the families that our partners are supporting.”

MCC Ontario also sends canned chicken to its international partners. Two weeks ago a shipment was sent to Chad, with another headed to Malawi later this week.