Add your name to this letter, urging your municipal/regional councillor to take a stand against hunger and poverty by advocating for policies that address poverty, the root cause of food insecurity. We’ll collect the letters and share with the Region of Waterloo Council.  

Dear Councillor,

September is Hunger Action Month—a nationwide awareness campaign that draws attention to hunger in our communities and encourages each one of us to take action. As one of your constituents, I’m writing to ask you to push for improvements to Ontario’s social assistance programs that ensure recipients are put in the best position to succeed, both while accessing the program and when they get back on their feet. When governments work together, we can strive to end hunger and poverty in Ontario. 

Like other Canadian cities, the local food bank, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region (The Food Bank), is seeing the highest need for food assistance in their 40-year history with 1 in 10 households in the community accessing food support. This is a clear sign that more needs to be done to reduce food insecurity. 

And while the emergency food programs available through The Food Bank’s partners in the Community Food Assistance Network help those experiencing immediate need, they don’t address the root cause of food insecurity, which is poverty. 

That’s why food banks alone are not the solution. 

To meaningfully address food insecurity, all levels of government need to implement policies that reduce poverty and improve the incomes of food-insecure households. At the municipal level, this can include: 

• Building affordable housing 

• Providing low-income public transit passes, transit service to low-income neighbourhoods, transportation for people with disabilities, and subsidized taxi rides 

• Ensuring public spaces are free to enter, like libraries and community centres 

• Offering low-cost municipal recreational programs 

As an elected official, you have the power to help the more than 58,000 people in Waterloo region struggling to afford to put food on the table. 

This Hunger Action Month, I ask you to take a stand against hunger and poverty by advocating for policies that address poverty, the root cause of food insecurity.