Our mission at The Food Bank of Waterloo Region (The Food Bank) is to ensure no one goes hungry. We do this through the development of progressive and forward-thinking programs – such as the Fresh Approaches Food Program – that allow us to make sure people in our community have access to a variety of fresh, frozen, and non-perishable food.

A Fresh Approach to Food Security

The Fresh Approaches Food Program is our seamless and innovative approach to food recovery, procurement, and distribution in Waterloo Region and includes three pillars:  

Fresh Approaches Food Centre	Our award-winning, on-site food processing facility opened in 2018. This is where staff and volunteers slice, dice and re-package dry, fresh and frozen donations, extending their lifespan and increasing the variety, quality and quantity of food distributed to the Community Food Assistance Network.
Mobile Pantry	Launched in 2021, the Mobile Pantry expands the safe distribution, access, and availability of fresh food to neighborhood programs, when and where it is needed most. Click here to read the media release. The Mobile Pantry is generously funded by an Ontario Trillium Foundation Capital Grant.
Saving Fresh. Feeding Community.	Food recovery is a top priority at The Food Bank. In 2019, we furthered our commitment to food recovery by launching Saving Fresh. Feeding Community., our food recovery program. As part of this program, we work with corporate, community, and food industry partners (distributors, retailers, restaurants) to prevent edible, healthy food from being discarded and instead redirected to help the 34,620 people in our community struggling to put food on the table. This program also significantly reduces food waste in our community. Click here to learn more about our Saving Fresh. Feeding Community., program.