WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Centre Wellington Food Bank will be launching Well Fed Wellington, an initiative to address food insecurity in rural Wellington County.
Curt McQueen, Centre Wellington Food Bank’s executive director, said the initiative is partly possible due to a “transformational” $1 million donation from the Balsillie Family Foundation, announced on Sept. 22, as part of a $4.5 million overall donation into four regional food banks; Centre Wellington, Cambridge Food Bank, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region and the Guelph Food Bank.
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- McQueen addresses the conference | Mik Horvath
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- Balsillie said this announcement marks a new level of support needed by these significant services | Mik Horvath
McQueen said the organization was already looking at expanding its rural coverage; he said one centralized location tied with a lack of public transit options are just some of the challenges related to food insecurity in Wellington County.
However, Well Fed Wellington aims to bridge the gap between communities and to also support residents so they don’t need to fully rely on going to the food bank.
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- Centre Wellington Food Bank has mapped out surrounding food banks to partner with | Mik Horvath
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- While food banks overall are experiencing increased usage, McQueen said his food bank is still able to keep up with local demand, although he said their “grocery bill” has been noticeably increasing. | Mik Horvath
According to a recently launched web-page Well Fed Wellington will “build a connected, county wide network of affordable, nutritious and dignified food access that supports wellbeing and connection closer to home.”
McQueen said the initiative will come to full-fruition in about five years, but its first of the “food access pathways” will be implemented in 2027.
He also said these initiatives can’t be mentioned without the historic and current support of Jim Balsillie and the Balsillie Family Foundation.
Balsillie was in attendance at the Tuesday press conference and has been a quiet supporter of the Centre Wellington Food Bank for about six years, according to McQueen.
As a Guelph-Eramosa resident Balsillie said even a relatively “small donation” can make a large impact in a rural community.
Balsillie is the former co-CEO of BlackBerry, co-founder of the Council of Canadian Innovators and the Digital Governance Council and has founded multiple think tank organizations.
He said this donation addresses the silent stories of how many people use food bank services; Balsillie’s financial support ramped up during COVID but this investment helps to cover the increasing use of regional food banks.
Balsillie is hoping that need and reliance on food banks will bring more people out of the woodwork to support social services.
According to data from The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Ontarian food banks have recorded 8.7 million visits province-wide in 2024-2025 which is a 13 per cent increase from the previous year and a 165 per cent increase since 2019-2020.
A joint statement from the local food banks said “we need coordinated action to increase incomes for people living on low and fixed incomes, expand affordable and supportive housing, strengthen employment supports and worker protections, improve access to childcare, transportation and health services.”
