Food Bank of Waterloo Region sees fewer students, while overall usage is up
'The last three years have been really challenging for our community as a whole,' said Kim Wilhelm, Food Bank of Waterloo Region CEO. 'We've had record-breaking months of people accessing food assistance.'
While overall usage is up, they're seeing a drop in the number of students accessing the food bank.
'Those who are in post-secondary school have additional pressures of tuition. They're not able to work as many hours as other people,' Wilhelm told CTV News on Wednesday.
The data, however, points to a shift that has fewer students accessing the food bank's services.
'When we look at June 2025, there are about 750 students that identified as a student when they access food assistance. The good news is that's a 26 per cent decrease from last June 2024,' said Wilhelm.
It's difficult to pinpoint why that may be, Wilhelm adds.
It does come at a time when Conestoga College is seeing significant enrolment reductions due to the cap on international students.
But the food bank does not track whether a student is domestic or international.
'When somebody who identifies as a student comes to one of our food programs, one of the first things we do is refer them back to their school food program for assistance,' said Wilhelm.
Although, a spokesperson for Conestoga Students Inc., the student association for the college told CTV News in an email: 'CSI's on-campus food support programming paused for Spring semester while we work on a revamp we are announcing later this month.'
CTV News also contacted Cheryl MacInnes, who helps supply Trinity Community Table's free lunch in Cambridge, about whether they've seen fewer international students.
'I cannot quantify the decrease in the number of international students,' MacInnes wrote in an email. 'We do not ask our guests where they are from. We offer food to all those in need.'
What is clear is the overall increase in demand at the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.
'On average, we're finding that people are accessing it twice a month,' said Wilhelm. 'That's a five per cent increase in the number of people and a 13 per cent increase in the total visits from the prior June.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
BC Hydro says Site C dam is fully operational ahead of schedule
B.C.'s minister of energy and climate solutions Adrian Dix said Site C won't be the last major energy project in the province after becoming fully operational ahead of schedule. The dam in northern B.C. is now able to generate 1,100 megawatts of electricity – enough to power half a million homes per year – after the sixth and final power-generating turbine came online. The first of the six turbines started to generate power in October 2024. BC Hydro's challenge: Powering province through surging demand, drought and trade war Dix said this development means that generations of British Columbians will benefit from reliable and affordable clean electricity, with more clean energy projects under way. 'We need to increase the energy we produce,' he said, adding this new energy needs to be clean, so the province can meet its economic and environmental goals. 'So this is a really important time, and Site C is a key part of that.' In December 2024, BC Hydro awarded nine wind energy projects, following its first call for new power supply in 15 years. Last month, it launched another call for power, also with a focus on clean or renewable energy sources. Dix said this decade will be as important in the history of developing clean energy as the 1960s were, when asked about the historic significance of Site C. With a final price tag of $16 billion, nearly double its initial price tag, the dam is considered B.C.'s most expensive infrastructure project. Construction of the controversial dam started in July 2015 under former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark, and continued under late NDP premier John Horgan, following a review of the project's economics. Dix acknowledged that Horgan was not in favour of the project, which also drew opposition from local residents and environmentalists. 'He was a critic of the project,' Dix said. 'He was looking at the contract. He'd given a lot of thought to the project over a long period of time.' BC Hydro's Site C dam project on shaky ground Horgan announced in December 2017 that the project would continue. While Site C 'should never have been started,' cancellation would have added billions of dollars to the provincial debt, Horgan said at the time. 'I think ultimately that was the right decision,' Dix said. 'You have to look at things, and make the right decision for the public interest.' Charlotte Mitha, BC Hydro president and chief executive officer, said in a press release that Site C will serve customers for next 100 years and 'play a critical role in ensuring a stable and reliable electricity system.'
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Landlords say Ruby Liu's plan for Bay properties 'defies commercial common sense'
Several of Canada's most prominent real estate companies are slamming an attempt from a B.C. billionaire to take over 25 former Hudson's Bay leases, saying her plan for their spaces "defies commercial common sense" and is "entirely unrealistic." The landlords, including Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties, Ivanhoe Cambridge, KingSett Capital Inc., Morguard Investments Ltd. and Primaris Real Estate Investment Trust, made filings Saturday that ask the Ontario Superior Court to stop Liu from moving in. Most said they are opposed to Liu becoming a tenant because she has no detailed or credible business plan and despite owning three B.C. shopping centres, lacks the experience or staff she'd need to successfully operate a retailer out of the Bay's former digs. Her business is "an empty shell without any guarantee of financial means beyond Ms. Liu's bare assertion that she will keep it afloat," said Rory MacLeod, Cadillac Fairview's executive vice-president of operations, in an affidavit. "All of the indications are that (her company) will run out of money before the first store opens." WATCH | Liu shares her plans for former Hudson's Bay stores: B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu shares her vision for former Hudson's Bay locations 1 month ago His affidavit and a slew from other retail executives up the ante in a battle that has been festering between Liu and landlords since the Bay announced in May that it had chosen her to buy 28 of its leases. The first three got court approval and were transferred in short order because they were at Liu's three malls. The remaining 25, however, have been much more fraught. Those leases cover some of the country's most prized retail space and came with cheaper rent and very attractive terms for the Bay, which filed for creditor protection under the weight of tremendous debt in March. For example, the Bay paid $1.3 million in annual rent for 152,420 square feet at Fairview Mall in Toronto, court documents show, which is a fraction of what non-anchor tenants would pay. Unable to get most landlords onside with a lease transfer, the Bay asked a court at the end of July to force property owners to accept Liu as a tenant. Liu and the Bay have until next Tuesday to respond to Cadillac Fairview's allegations. A judge will hear the matter at the end of the month. Liu has said she wants to turn the Bay stores she is hoping to buy into her own department store named after herself. She has repeatedly told The Canadian Press and CBC News her stores will not just offer retail space but also dining, entertainment, kids play and recreation areas. MacLeod says she's also talked of outfitting Bay spaces with grocery stores, educational centres, senior's facilities, robotics and musical performances. WATCH | Vancouverites share their thoughts on Hudson's Bay departure: On June 1, the storied Hudson's Bay department store at the intersection of Georgia and Granville streets in downtown Vancouver will be shuttered. CBC News spoke to people in downtown Vancouver who said there will now be a void in the city's retail fabric. Cadillac Fairview says leases at the six malls she wants from the company — Fairview Mall, Sherway Gardens, Masonville Place and Markville in Ontario, Market Mall and Chinook Centre in Alberta and Richmond Centre in B.C. — don't allow for anything other than a department store to be operated there. "Despite her private assurances that she intends to respect the lease terms, Ms. Liu has consistently presented a different idea to the public, one that would not be compatible with the leases," MacLeod said. When Oxford Properties met with Liu, it got the impression her goal is to run her own mall within anchor tenant spaces and felt she has ambitions that stretch well beyond what is permitted in the Bay's leases. Nadia Corrado, a vice-president with Oxford, alleged in an affidavit that Liu criticized the food court at Hillcrest Mall, north of Toronto, and shared a vision for including Asian fine dining, "when the food court forms part of the shopping centre owned by Oxford – and not part of the HBC premises she is seeking to take an assignment of." Concern over timelines and budgets Affidavits from landlord executives also raised concerns with the timelines and budget in her business plan. Liu has said she will be ready to open at least 20 stores within 180 days of obtaining leases and will spend $120 million on "overdue" repairs to roofs, HVAC systems, washrooms, elevators and escalators and $135 million on initial inventory. Cadillac Fairview says her proposed timeline is "entirely unrealistic" for a new brand, let alone an established one, and her plan is underfunded based on the high number of repairs properties need and expensive terms suppliers will require her to agree to. MacLeod estimates the stores will need more than $15.8 million in repairs before the end of 2026 to bring the leases into good standing. By 2027, Liu will need to spend another $5.7 million on repairs, not including taxes, permits or fees for expedited labour. Over the next 10 years, he estimates Liu will be required to spend at least $43.1 million on the Cadillac Fairview leases alone. Corrado from Oxford said Liu's $8-million budget for renovations at Southcentre Mall in Calgary was also insufficient. She alleged Liu was surprised she'd be responsible for exterior or structural parts of the leased spaces, like the roof, and said Liu indicated her proposed budget did not account for such costs. Even if her budget for renovations changes, landlords have concerns about whether she can secure inventory. Though Liu maintains companies are willing to supply her with inventory, a KingSett Capital affidavit said evidence she's filed in court mostly amounts to letters from merchants saying they have capacity to support her stores, rather than committing to a relationship. Staffing concerns The landlords also took issue with her staffing estimates, which show she will need 1,800 employees to carry out her plan. If all 1,800 are sales staff that would only leave 64 people on the floor of each of her 28 stores. Macleod said such staffing levels are "inadequate to support a countrywide chain" and "inconsistent with a retail location even a fraction of that size." "With my decades of experience in commercial real estate, it is apparent to me and Cadillac Fairview that (Liu) will fail and again leave these stores vacant," he said. Ruby Paola, a managing director with landlord Ivanhoe Cambridge's parent company, also agreed Liu is "most likely to fail" because her retailer is "uncertain, untested and unknown."
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
Strathcona County ‘not to proceed' with new crash-reporting centre right now
The south Edmonton collision reporting centre on 58 Avenue at 87A Avenue on Aug. 8, 2025. Strathcona County says a new crash-reporting centre won't open in Sherwood Park at this time. On Friday, Stephanie Greening, Accident Support Services International's operations manager for Western Canada, told CTV News Edmonton the company was in talks to open a new collision-reporting centre in Sherwood Park as early as next year. On Saturday, Strathcona County told CTV News Edmonton they evaluated the proposal but decided not to go through with it. 'After careful consideration, [Strathcona County] determined that it does not align with our current business needs,' said communications supervisor Felicity Gingras. 'As a result, we have chosen not to proceed with a service agreement at this time.' Edmonton has two collision-reporting centres. One is scheduled to open in Airdrie next month. This story previously reported a Sherwood Park collision-reporting centre was slated to open in 2026. After receiving further information from Strathcona County, the article has been updated to reflect the proposal was rejected and there will not be a new reporting centre.
