Food 4 Kids aims to fill youth hunger gap in Waterloo Region

According to the Region of Waterloo, approximately 10 per cent of households are chronically hungry and food insecure. That's roughly 20,000 households and some of those, of course, include children.

While the Food Bank of Waterloo Region and Nutrition for Learning get a lot of food into hungry homes through their programs, Food 4 Kids Waterloo Region specializes in providing nutritious meals to children on weekends and during school breaks.

"We are an organization designed to feed children up to 14 years old and who have chronic hunger. We feed them through the school system and provide the food that they're not getting at home," said Jennifer Birnstihl of Food 4 Kids Waterloo Region.

The walls of their facility in an industrial mall in south Kitchener are lined with stacks of bins of food and labelled with a family's address for delivery. The menu of dry goods changes weekly and makes allowances for a family's dietary requirements.

Fresh produce and food is donated by local companies like Martin's Family Fruit Farm, Don's Produce, Ammar's Halal Butcher Shop and Specialty Grocery Store, and several area grocery stores. Ozery Bakery in Vaughan donates a lot of bread, according to Birnstihl.

Now serving 1,000 children

Since the organization started their program in Waterloo Region five years ago, they have grown in their reach significantly by hundreds of families each year: from 19 children in 2017 to what will be 1,000 children this fall.

Working with the schools, Food 4 Kids Waterloo Region is directed to children and families at risk by teachers and principals. The families are then invited to apply for support. If one child is found to be going without food regularly and the family appliesfor support, enough food is delivered for their brothers and sisters.

Each Friday during school, a food package is discreetly slipped into the child's knapsack a task made difficult during the darkest parts of the pandemic.

"It had been a really tough 16 months for us. We've had to pivot many times, especially when our distribution system through the schools was eliminated. At one point, teachers and staff helped with delivery," she added.

Weekends included

On weekends and during school breaks, such as this summer, 125 volunteers organize the food packages and volunteer drivers deliver them to the homes.

"There were 1,400 opportunities, or spots, offered this summer for volunteers, everything from delivery drivers, bin packers, bin 'jockeys' and safety and set-up crew," according to Birnstihl.

Volunteer driver Demi Vandal has been with the organization since before the pandemic and says the need for food is critical for these families.

"I've noticed within our community that there are more and more people struggling to get food on the table. I've had friends who grew up without food on the table. It breaks your heart to see that," Vandal said.

Another volunteer is Aisha Ali, a Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute student.

"Volunteering here makes me feel grateful for what I have, and I get to help other people and work with great people here," said Ali who hopes to organize a food drive at school.

Birnstihl stresses that Food 4 Kids Waterloo Region is not an emergency food program; rather, they strive to be aniche for when kids aren't in school and formlonger-term support for the chronic hunger and food insecurity that many children are experiencing.

In tougher times, the phone was ringing off the hook with families looking for assistance, and they had a waiting list of more than 100 children. "We found a way to get them food," said Birnstihl. "More people were at home and eating during COVID."

Powered by donation

Food 4 Kids Waterloo Region does receive corporate donations and has had grant funding. Dollars are what makes the difference to the organization as it continues to serve more and more, said Birnstihl.

"The number one thing that we really need is, honestly, funding and money," she said, adding that fundraising is not easy to do during a pandemic. "It costs $500 to feed a child for the whole summer and $1,000 for an entire year, but anything is welcome and any donation helps."

In addition, the organizationjust launched its"Feeding Hope 50/50 Charity Raffle" to raise money, and there are volunteer and ambassador opportunities for anyone interested in helping out, or you could run a food drive.

The key, according to volunteer-driver Vandal, is to do what you can.

"I think it's important as a community to all pitch in. These are our kids that we're feeding."