Memories of summer shouldn’t include hunger

As published in The Record on July 9, 2026.

For many kids, summer is a time for sleeping in, playing outside, and enjoying a well-earned break from school.

But for the 26,000 children in Waterloo region living in food-insecure households, summer can feel very different. It can mean empty cupboards, stomach pains from hunger, and quiet worry of not knowing where the next meal will come from—or if it will come at all.

During the school year, many children rely on breakfast, lunch, and snack programs that help stretch already limited household food budgets. When schools close for the summer, many of those supports pause or shift, leaving families to bridge a gap they often cannot afford to fill.

For a child, that gap is not abstract. It can be the feeling of going to bed hungry. It can be watching others enjoy summer treats while quietly going without. It can be a parent trying to make food last just a little longer, hoping tomorrow will be easier than today.

No child should spend their summer break worrying about food.

That’s why The Food Bank of Waterloo Region runs the Full Bellies. Happy Hearts. campaign each summer—to help ensure children and their families have access to the food they need, not only during the summer months, but throughout the year.

This year, the campaign aims to raise the equivalent of 1.5 million meals by August 31. So far, we’ve raised 700,000 meals, leaving 800,000 meals still needed to reach our goal.

The good news is that every donation goes further. Thanks to a generous matching gift from the Allan Bush Investment Team, every dollar donated during the campaign provides four meals instead of two. Donations can be made online at thefoodbank.ca/fullbellies.

While financial contributions remain the most effective way to help, there are many other meaningful ways community members can make a difference.

Donations of kid-friendly, non-perishable food are especially needed. At a time when demand for food assistance remains at record levels, donations of these items have declined significantly.

Among the most needed items are applesauce pouches, granola bars, and juice boxes—simple, familiar foods that can make a real difference in a child’s day. Non-perishable food donations can be dropped off at any grocery store or at police, fire, or paramedic stations across Kitchener-Waterloo.

Community members can also support the campaign by hosting a food and fund drive. This support is more important than ever, as the number of community-led food and fund drives has declined in recent months.

A food and fund drive can be as simple as collecting donations at a garage sale, sports tournament, or family barbeque, or as ambitious as organizing a workplace fundraising challenge. Every dollar raised and every item collected helps put food on the table for local families while also shining a light on the reality of food insecurity in our community. Food and fund drives can be registered at thefoodbank.ca/ffd.

Whether you give online or host a food and fund drive, every contribution to the Full Bellies. Happy Hearts. campaign has a real and lasting impact.

Support from this campaign helps The Food Bank supply food to the 61 organizations in the Community Food Assistance Network that provide direct food support to nearly 73,000 people across Waterloo region.

When you give, you can help make moments like a child having a snack at a summer program in Waterloo through Adventure4Change possible. You help Anishnabeg Outreach distribute food hampers—known as Spirit Bundles—to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis families in Kitchener and Cambridge who are working to hold onto both nourishment and dignity during difficult times. You help community partners like Base Church provide food hampers to parents who are doing everything they can to keep food on the table for their children. These are just a few of the organizations working every day to make sure people across our region can access healthy, nutritious food.

This summer, we have an opportunity to come together as a community and make sure children in Waterloo region don’t just get through the season—but get to experience it.

Because summer should be remembered for playgrounds, bike rides, sticky fingers from popsicles, and time with friends—not the ache of hunger.

Together, we can help ensure children and families across Waterloo region spend their summer making memories instead of worrying about their next meal.

Kim Wilhelm is the CEO at The Food Bank of Waterloo Region.