ANNUAL REPORT 2023

                                    “I want a photo of the wonderful people that are helping me to send to my friends at home. 

                                      They will know people care for me. Thank you”.  Svetlana, with volunteers Diana, Theresa and Rob

 

OVERVIEW:  WAES continued to see, and feel, the need in our community growing throughout 2023.  The numbers, representing real people, are just staggering.  In 2023 we had 31,545 visits, up by 4,500 versus 2022, and 4x higher than pre-COVID.  Each month in 2023 was busier than 2022.  The growth in need was pushing our organization to the breaking point.  It was overwhelming.  We signed up more new families each week.  We had to purchase ever increasing amounts of food, increasing from an average of $10K per month in 2022 to $17K in 2023.  Our volunteers were asked to work longer hours so that we could ensure everybody that needed food received their groceries each week.

We keep hearing words like “unsustainable, overwhelming, crisis” with regards to food bank use in Toronto, and across the country.  People coming to WAES are more anxious.  Though they appreciated the groceries they received, they really needed more.  It was so hard to say that we were giving all that we could.  More seniors were coming for help.  One 88-year-old woman cried every time she came to get food.  “I never though it would come to this.  I have no family to help me.  Please, I need food.”  Our volunteers had to deal with many types of mental health issues.  Some people were angry, others were sad.  That takes a toll on all of us.  Our food bank manager, Noellie Sotomayor, worked with our volunteers and our community to ensure that people felt supported and heard. 

Many people stepped up in 2023.  Our steering committee took on more tasks, our volunteers worked more hours, our financial donors responded with generosity.  Individuals gave more than they ever have before.  Foundations, businesses, service and faith organizations all increased their donations.  This generosity kept us going throughout this most difficult year.

WAES, like food banks across the country, knows that we can’t keep up with the growing need.  More needs to be done to support people.  Government at all levels needs to review policies and find ways to make sure families can afford to pay their rent and feed their families. 

  

STATISTICS:

 

 SUPPORTS:

 

WAES has been very fortunate financially.  We have amazing donors that continue to support us through this very difficult time.   The surge in the number of people we served in the last part of the year has resulted in our need to purchase a significantly larger amount of food each week.  In January we purchased $9k of food, and in December we needed to purchase $23K to meet our needs. Our volunteers continued to go to MVR Cash and Carry every Monday and Thursday mornings to purchase milk, eggs, vegetables, and fruit.  In December we received a truckload delivered to WAES by MVR for the first time, as the amount we needed exceeded our capacity to pick up.  We have other volunteers who go weekly to No Frills on Dixon to purchase needed non-perishables, as well as trips to FreshCo on Dennison to purchase cereal and chicken. 

FINANCIAL DONORS:

FOUNDATIONS AND SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS:  Kindred Foundation; Dream Foundation; Hylcan Foundation; Birks Family Foundation; Wells Family Fund; Paul Butler Foundation; Weston Lions; York Lions; Rotary Club – Parkdale, High Park, Humber; Rotary Club Toronto West; Knights of Columbus 3945 (from proceeds raised at the Delta Downsview Bingo 1868 Wilson Avenue North York, ON M9M 1A5); CMS Hockey.

“We are very proud to support the impactful work of Weston Area Emergency Support.  The program is run with compassion, dignity, and respect for all those who come to WAES in need of food support.  The program is beautifully managed and expertly organized to ensure that it operates at a high level of efficiency. We are in awe of the work done at WAES, and it is clear that they are a valued and important part of the Weston community.” Antonia Palmer, Executive Director of Kindred Foundation

 

BUSINESSES:  Mount Pleasant Group; Weston Golf Club; 8th Orchard Golf Inc.; Nani’s Gelato; Headway Salon; ID Mechanical Inc.; Keena Transport; Amplify Logistics. For the second year the Weston Golf and Country Club ran a charity golf tournament with proceeds going to WAES.  It was a great event, and they have committed to doing it again in 2024.

FAITH ORGANIZATIONS: Central United Church; Weston Presbyterian; St. Mary’s and St. Martha’s Anglican Church.

INDIVIDUAL DONORS:  WAES has over 270 generous individual donors, including 16 monthly donors through CanadaHelps.

 NON-FINANCIAL SUPPORT:

CENTRAL UNITED CHURCH:  WAES continues to call Central United Church home.  The staff and congregation are very supportive of our needs as we continue to require more space to receive, sort, stock and distribute more and more food.

NORTH YORK HARVEST and SECOND HARVEST:  We receive weekly deliveries of perishable and non-perishable goods.  These deliveries are a key element to our ability to meet WAES’s need.  In 2023 these deliveries represent about 30% of our food requirements.    North York Harvest was also a financial donor to WAES, helping us through a grant and donation of Loblaw gift cards.

 

WESTON PARK BAPTIST CHURCH:  In December 2023 WPBC held their annual door-to-door food drive. A large group of volunteers distribute bags to houses in the area, and then pick up the filled bags a week later.  It is a huge endeavour, and we are so thankful for all the hard work by the WPB church volunteers.   It is a community wide event that brought in about 7,000 pounds of non-perishable food.

                                                                                                                                 

FOOD DRIVES and DONATIONS:

FAITH ORGANIZATIONS: Central United Church; Weston Park Baptist Church; Weston Presbyterian Church; St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church; St. Mary’s and St. Martha’s Anglican Church; St. Phillips Anglican church; Salaam Foundation; Healing Ministries.

SCHOOLS and CLUBS:  H.J. Alexander Community School; St. John the Evangelist Catholic school; Pelmo Park Community School; Weston Memorial Community School; J.R. Wilcox Community School; Sunnybrae Community School; Silverthorn Community School; Weston Minor Hockey; Vaughan Rangers Hockey, Weston Historical Society.

BUSINESSES and SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS: Irving Tissue; Veritas; Emery Village BIA; Lincoln Line Orchards delivered bushels of apples and pears in December; Voortman Cookies; Rotary Club Toronto West; Weston Superstore; RBC Weston Rd; Dynamic Dance; Agile Marshall Arts; P&M’s Restaurant, Dennys Restaurant.

INDIVIDUALS: Many people dropped off food throughout the year.  One kind donor put together “birthday” packs to be distributed to families with children so they could bake a cake, have some treats, and make the birthday special.

                       “Thank you for your endless hours of giving and the genuine smiles that come with your service.

        PS: A special thanks to the originators of WAES.”  Written note from a community member

 

VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF:

            WAES is blessed with over 40 amazing volunteers.  Some of our volunteers have been with us for over 25 years, while others have come on board in 2023.  We have one full time staff member: our hard working, kind, supportive and very organized Food Bank Manager, Noellie Sotomayor.  Many volunteers show up to WAES once a week (or more) to do a shift unloading trucks, date checking, stocking shelves or distributing groceries.  Other volunteers use their own vehicles and gas to pick up the food we need from local grocery stores.  We have been fortunate to recruit placement students from Humber College and Guelph Humber.  These students are trained to answer our phone and set up our appointments.  They also work on the front lines distributing groceries and helping our community members.  Several of these students have stayed on to help even after their placement is over.  In December two community police officers, Cherry Atkins and Damion Davis, helped out for the first time.  It was wonderful to have their support. Our Steering Committee are also volunteers.  They work hard in the community, at WAES and at our meetings to ensure that we continue to follow our mission to serve our community with care and compassion.

“I thank you for the continued opportunity to volunteer at WAES.   I look forward to Thursday afternoon's shift of  working with all in a positive environment.  We all work very hard, yet we have time to laugh and share with each other.” Email from an ongoing volunteer

FINAL NOTE:

Behind all the numbers in this report are people, neighbours, community members; people we have come to know and care about.  Behind the numbers is also a dynamic organization that has continued to provide healthy food for our community.  Make no mistake, poverty is the cause of food insecurity and food bank use.  As costs rise, people with low incomes, or on government assistance; be it Old Age Security, Disability Benefits or Social Assistance; are not able to cope.  It has become a crisis, with food banks and meal programs feeling the overwhelming demand.  It was COVID in 2020 that laid bare the inequity in our system, and the significant increases in costs in 2023 that emphasized this inequity.   Remember to talk to your local politicians and tell them you want supports that will help raise people up so they can feed themselves and their families. Supports like affordable housing, universal childcare, living wage, accessible education, appropriate newcomer support and training programs.   Then maybe one day we can close our food bank.  Until that day, thank you to everybody for supporting WAES.

WAES Steering Committee: Ken Sisson, Leslie Haller(Secretary), Sandy McCamus, Edna Harding (Treasurer), Norma Kent, Robert Heath, Greg Lane, Stephen Rowley(Retired),  Diana Stapleton (Chair)

Established in 1986

1 King St, Central United Church                                                                                               

416-247-3737

info@waes.ca

https://sites.google.com/view/waesfoodbank/home

Charitable Organization #119295202RR0001