Kanata Food Cupboard moving to new location amid growing food insecurity

The Kanata Food Cupboard van on July 8, 2024. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)

The Kanata Food Cupboard is moving to a new location as it continues to see a growing level of food insecurity in the community.

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The food bank has been a critical resource for the community. In 2023, more than 17,000 Kanata residents, roughly one in eight, relied on their support.

"We're seeing over a 20 per cent increase from last year, and we're seeing close to about 450 families every single month, which is about 1,800 people," said Cara-Leigh Wyllie, Kanata Food Cupboard’s executive director.

Shawna Thibodeau, who runs her own food outreach program, has been extremely busy this year.

"My outreach is about getting food to people on the street. People are hungry, some are housed, but they can't afford food. So I bring these items downtown and I share with other charities as well," said Thibodeau.

She relies on places like the Kanata Food Cupboard to supply her with near expired food that they can’t give to clients, ensuring it doesn’t go to waste.

"All of this may have ended up in the trash. There's certain meats that people don't eat. I know people who eat them," she said.

But there are big changes coming to the food bank.

"We have to move to a new location because another tenant is moving into this building," said Wyllie.

Luckily, the new location is just a three-minute drive from where the food cupboard is now. Although the new warehouse isn’t as big as the current one, they can still store all the food needed.

"While this is a smaller space, traditionally in the past, we have stored our food donations horizontally. But now we have transitioned to a more vertical storage. So we'll be able to fit everything that we had in the old warehouse, in the new warehouse," said Jessica Matchem, Kanata Food Cupboard’s operations manager.

The move is only possible with the help of the dozens of volunteers who give their time to the charity.

"We just want to do what we can to support the community. We know there's a lot of people that are less fortunate or have fallen on hard times with everything that's been going on. So we help how we can," said Chiara Miller, a volunteer.

Regardless of location, Thibodeau knows places like this are an important part of the community.

"People are starving. People are starving. It's just that simple," she said.

The Kanata Food Cupboard will open its new doors at 1240 Teron Road on July 15.