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Emergency Food Hampers

HOF Emergency Food Assistance Blog
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Don Cameron gets results
Volunteers and Kitchener Waterloo can move mountains.  Mountains of potatoes that is! How do we know this?  Well, because of the Don Cameron Potato Night of course! It was, as usual, a record breaking event!  Rangers fans did it again, bringing in 4,800 lbs of potatoes and giving $6,394 in cash donations.  Thanks to a » more

Home Economics 101: Waterloo Edition – What does a healthy diet cost?
It’s no surprise how quickly a grocery bill can add up throughout the month after you buy fresh produce, school snacks, meat, milk, and all the other foods you need. But do you have any idea how much money someone typically spends to feed the average family in Waterloo Region a healthy diet? … Give » more

2012 is a year to be smart here!
In the past I took some time to highlight some of the functions of our lobby or waiting area, which you can read about here. But oops – I missed something: our bulletin board! Our bulletin board is a relatively big part of our lobby that we try to fill with social services event listings, » more

Swimming in a sea of potatoes
At the beginning of each year we rest briefly, celebrate the past year, take a deep breath and try and catch up with our many volunteers who are sprinting ahead of us, leading the way and talking with our community about something very simple, yet very important. What is that? Potatoes. A tangible, staple food, » more

Tuesdays, À la Social Service Intern
To continue with a bit of an inside scoop on my work as the Social Service Intern with House of Friendship, here is a post describing a typical Tuesday for me. At 8:30am, I arrive at Eby Village, another one of House of Friendship’s programs. Built in 1990, this is an affordable, supportive housing program for single men » more

Feeding Those in Need & Addressing Hunger in Our Community

Download Brochure

 

For over 60 years, House of Friendship's Emergency Food Hamper program has been providing emergency food assistance to people in need. 31,730 food hampers were distributed in 2010-11, serving approximately 22,000 people.

Meet some of the friendly folks at the Food Hampers Program. They may not take themselves too seriously, but they treat hunger very seriously...

For more program information see the description below, download the brochure above, call (519) 742-0662, or e-mail hampers@houseoffriendship.org

Why is there Hunger in Waterloo Region?

There are many reasons why some people in our affluent community need emergency food assistance. Some of these include:

  • Unemployment or underemployment

  • Inadequate fixed incomes

  • High costs of housing, transportation, and education

  • Unexpected expenses, family emergencies, and illness

  • Being a new Canadian with limited financial resources

  • Drug, alcohol or gambling addictions

  • Poor or abusive family relationships

  • Poor mental health

Did you know?:

  • One-third of the people we serve are children 12 years of age or under.

  • Approximately 40% of the people we serve are not on social assistance.

  • The other 60% receive some social assistance income in whole or in part.

Food SourcesThe Food Bank of Waterloo Region

  • Food Bank of Waterloo Region collects donated food that is distributed through member agencies like House of Friendship. House of Friendship is the largest member agency and distributes over half of the food collected by the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

  • We also receive direct food donations from churches, community groups, service clubs, schools, unions, businesses, farmers, and individuals.

  • Some staples (baby items, rice, margarine, potatoes) are purchased at wholesale prices using dollars donated to House of Friendship.

You Can Help By .....

  • Growing food for us

  • Donating food (for more information...)

  • Donating dollars (for more information...)

  • Donating small household items, clothing and baby products

  • Educating yourself and others about hunger, its causes, and effective solutions

  • Advocating for social justice

  • Volunteering your time:

    • Over half of the work done at the Emergency Food Hamper Program is donated by volunteers. Many volunteers have received assistance through this program.

    • Volunteers sort food and clothing, pack food hampers and initiate or assist with related projects.

    • Without volunteers, our program would not exist. Please contact us if you are interested in helping us help others.