06-08-2025
Food Bank of Waterloo Region sees fewer students, while overall usage is up
Record-breaking periods of high demand are something the Food Bank of Waterloo Region has seen several times over the last few years.
'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.'
