After a hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region (The Food Bank) held its annual Agency Forum on November 17. Agency partners and community programs in the Community Food Assistance Network came together for an energizing morning of in-person connection and learning. 

The Food Bank acquires and distributes food to over 120 agencies and community programs in Waterloo region. These organizations make up the Network and together, they provide direct food support and other essential services to more than 58,600 people in need. 

At this year’s Agency Forum, attendees first heard from Kim Wilhelm, the interim CEO of The Food Bank. Kim welcomed everyone and spoke about the importance of Network collaboration. 

“The Food Bank has a rich history of initiating, nurturing, and championing partnerships in Waterloo region to enhance local food security,” Kim said. “And it is no secret—we are stronger when we work together. By working together, thousands of people in our community have the food and supports they need to not only survive but also thrive.” 

Attendees then heard from Carolyn Stewart, the CEO of Feed Ontario. As a leading advocate and procurer of food at the provincial level, Feed Ontario provides support to our Network partners and other food banks throughout the province. Carolyn spoke about the advocacy work that Feed Ontario is doing to hold the provincial government accountable for the increasing need for food assistance. 

“We all know that food insecurity is not a food issue, but an income issue and we unfortunately cannot donate ourselves out of need,” Carolyn said. 

After Carolyn spoke, attendees heard from our keynote speaker, Katie S. Martin. Katie is the CEO of More Than Food Consulting, LLC and has over 25 years of experience developing and evaluating solutions to hunger. Her talk focused on how food assistance providers can move from providing transactional work to more transformational work using The More Than Food Framework. This framework involves enhancing a welcoming culture for participants accessing food support services and maximizing participant choice. Katie provided plenty of ideas that agency partners can implement at their own food assistance programs. She ended her keynote with an encouraging message. 

“There isn’t one silver bullet to end hunger,” Katie said. “There are many ways, big and small, that you can begin to make changes in your community today. So please don’t get intimidated; just get started.” 

After Katie’s presentation, attendees broke into small groups to discuss the insights that Katie shared. 

We’re so glad that we were able to come together and connect with our Network partners. We look forward to more opportunities where we can learn from each other and from leaders in food security.