Volunteers filling free food pantries in Chatham-Kent as food prices soar: ‘It’s always good to pay it forward’

Free food pantries are being offered in Chatham-Kent amid the frigid temperatures. CTV Windsor's Chris Campbell has details.

In response to the escalating need for accessible and affordable food options amidst soaring food prices, volunteers with FreeHelpCK are diligently filling free food pantries across Chatham-Kent.

They say the crucial service is designed to ensure that families and individuals facing financial hardships have uninterrupted access to essential food supplies, noting the need goes up when winter weather arrives.

“I’ve had a tough go the last few months,” said Chatham resident John Seed.

Seed said his daughter and wife had passed away within a few months of each other last year, making his financial situation difficult.

“I’ve got a lot less income coming in, so the Free Help CK and their pantries are a big thing for me right now. It’s getting me through the tough times,” he said.

Seed told CTV News, “It’s been a crazy go for me, but like I said, these Free Help pantries have just been a godsend.”

Seed said he tries to help others in need at the same time, knowing many people in the region are struggling to make ends meet.

“Yeah, I need some help. But at the same time, there [must] be other people out there who are worse off because I see the tent village uptown. And, you know, I feel so bad about them. I’ve even opened up my house and offered up some meals that I get from the pantries I cook up and I’ll give to people that don’t have because it’s always good to pay it forward,” Seed said.

The free food pantry initiative began during the COVID-19 pandemic with just one pantry in Chatham, but has since expanded to several neighbourhoods throughout the city and other nearby communities.

“I find our older generations, it’s pay our rent, pay our bills, and then we’ll see if we have food,” said FreeHelpCK Founder Geri Hughson. “When I come to fill it, there’s five or six people waiting.”

According to Hughson, the non-profit charity owns seven out of 13 food pantries across the municipality but assists with keeping the others stocked at least twice a week.

She said more and more people have been using the pantries out of necessity, suggesting the need continues to grow.

“Tuesdays and Fridays are the big fill days so they can get, as you can see, quite a bit of stuff,” Hughson explained. “We put anything nonperishable. We do get frozen food and we will put it in because it’s gone within an hour.”

Hughson said the initiative is driven by a community-wide effort to combat food insecurity and prevent anyone from skipping meals due to economic constraints.

“Our goal with this was to fill the gap for working people,” Hughson said. “So when you get done work, you couldn’t go to the food bank because you’re done at five. It’s closed. So our goal was come here to get something till you could get there.

“I’ll get messages that [say], ‘I was at the pantry, I walked and there’s nothing in it,” she continued. “There is Outreach for Hunger, but you’re only allowed to go so many days, right? So this is to fix the in between. They’re overwhelmed and they can’t offer food every day because they’d have none. So for us, if we can offer it a few days a week, it might help so that nobody is going without something that day.”

“There’s definitely a need because when we do it every week, everything’s gone,” said volunteers Mary Ann Wieringa and Quinn Chapman, who were dropping off fresh vegetables at a Chatham location on Tuesday.

“We have more sweet potatoes and we’re going to drop them off at the other two pantries so that everybody can have fresh vegetables that were given to us from a local farmer that has extra,” Wieringa said.

“We like to share and give back to the community. Yes,” Chapman added.

According to a 2023 report from Chatham-Kent Public Health, one in five households in Chatham-Kent is food insecure.

Food insecurity is the inadequate or insecure access to food because of a lack of money.

Local food bank officials believe the numbers have changed in the year since the report was released, noting the number of new households seeking assistance has surged.

“The demand for supports has definitely grown in the last year,” stated Chatham Outreach for Hunger Executive Director Brenda LeClair. “Working with the food pantries is a real wonderful thing for the community because we have our hours of operation, families get into us. Sometimes they live in a neighborhood where they don’t have transportation, and they don’t have access to the food bank. So the food pantries come in really handy.”

“In 2023, we served 6,000 households and in 2024 we served over 7,000. So there is your increase right there. It’s huge. And on top of that number, we had 1,096 families registered for the very first time ever using a food bank,” said LeClair.

Hughson said there are plans to bring another free food pantry to the town of Tilbury in March and encourages anyone who wants to see more established to get in contact with FreeHelpCK.

FreeHelpCK’s Free Food Pantry Locations:

Chatham

• 15 Orchard Height
• St Paul’s Discover Life (450 Park Ave. W.)
• BME Freedom Park (Wellington Street East)
• Teppermans
• 805 Grand Ave. W.

Dresden

• North Baptist Church

Ridgetown

• Legion with a small fridge

Additional Pantries in Chatham-Kent not owned by FreeHelpCK:

• Grand Avenue and Victoria Avenue
• 50 Adelaide St.
• Christ Church (beside the bus depot)
• 102 Taylor Ave.
• 20 Sandy St. (Woman’s Centre)

Wallaceburg

• Library Park and Nofrills