Sponsor spotlight: Heffner Toyota

Helping neighbours in need is a community effort. At The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, we couldn’t support our community the way we do without the incredible generosity of local businesses like Heffner Toyota. This family-owned dealership in Kitchener has been serving the region for 65 years, building a reputation rooted in trust, care, and integrity.

“We focus on building long-term relationships with our guests by creating a welcoming environment, offering transparent pricing, and fostering a team that really cares about their customers,” explains Melissa Brüggemann, the marketing and events team lead at Heffner Toyota. “We’re not just about selling cars. It’s about building trust and delivering great service long after the keys are handed over. Many of our team members have been with us for years and this creates a consistent and genuinely welcoming experience where customers see a familiar, friendly face every time they return.”

Heffner Toyota is not only committed to exceptional customer service—they’re also dedicated to giving back to the community they’ve called home for decades. In 2025, they strengthened that commitment by supporting The Food Bank of Waterloo Region as the presenting sponsor of our Engagement program.

Through our Engagement program, The Food Bank invites corporate and community groups to volunteer at our distribution centre. Groups help with activities like sorting frozen food, repacking items in the Fresh Approaches Food Centre, sorting non-perishable food in our Engagement room, and packing hampers. They also receive a guided tour of our 31,000-square-foot facility. It’s a great opportunity to make a difference, learn about our work, and gain a deeper understanding of food insecurity in Waterloo region.

Groups volunteering in our Engagement room sort through non-perishable food donated through community drives and local grocery store bins. Each item is checked to ensure it meets quality and best-before guidelines, then organized into categories—such as pasta, cans, and individually wrapped snacks—so it can be distributed efficiently to our partners in the Community Food Assistance Network, who support the nearly 73,000 people in Waterloo region accessing food assistance.

Kim Wilhelm, CEO, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Willy Heffner, president, Heffner Toyota, Meghan Waldbillig, engagement coordinator, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, and Melissa Brüggemann, marketing and events team lead, Heffner Toyota are pictured in the Engagement room.

“Food insecurity is really serious right now in Waterloo region,” Melissa says. “Those who have never experienced it before are now struggling, and they need our help. [The Engagement room] is a meaningful way to support not just food, but also connection and education. It’s a powerful space for people to come together and make a difference, and that’s something that we support wholeheartedly.”

We’re incredibly grateful to Heffner Toyota for standing with us in our mission to reduce food insecurity in Waterloo region. Their commitment is a shining example of corporate social responsibility and community leadership.

Interested in volunteering through our Engagement program? Visit our Volunteer page to learn more and register your group.

To explore The Food Bank’s sponsorship opportunities and how your business can help ensure no one in our community goes hungry, visit our Sponsorship page.