ANNUAL REPORT 2024

“I do this with all my heart and soul because I know how difficult it is to get donations, and I also know how hard it is when you have no food to feed your family.” Sandra, Emery Village BIA and Mosaic volunteers delivering food in December

2024: This year was filled with many difficulties offset by some incredible acts of generosity. Everybody has read the headlines regarding the pressure on food banks, the increasing need, the decreasing donations and the inability for most food banks to carry on helping those people coming for support. WAES is no different. Every month we had more visits than ever before. In the spring we started to cut back the items we were purchasing due to concern about our financial position. By the fall we were starting to wonder how we could continue through 2025.

As the number of people coming for groceries continued to increase, we found ways to adapt and provide for our community. Noellie Sotomayor, our food bank manager, brought in more volunteers and streamlined how we distribute food. We decreased purchasing non-perishable items so that we could continue to provide eggs, milk, fresh produce and protein for our community members.

WAES, like food banks across the country, knows that we can’t keep up with the growing need. All levels of government could do more to support people. Social assistance and disability benefits need to be overhauled so that they provide enough support to sustain people. Old Age Security needs to be improved. Creative solutions for housing must be found and implemented. There are answers, but it is not food banks.

STATISTICS:

These charts demonstrate the ever-increasing need in York South Weston. Unfortunately, we do not believe that these numbers will decrease in 2025.

WAES saw an average of 3,090 visits per month in 2024, up from 2,628 in 2023.
The total visits for the fourth quarter (Oct-Dec) 2024 was 9,900. The visits for all of 2019 were 7,600!
There is a disproportionately higher percent of BIPOC people coming to WAES. Over 75% of the people receiving food support are BIPOC.
Families with children are struggling. Again, this year 32% of those we help are under 18, versus only 20% of the total population.
Seniors are also growing as a percentage of those supported by WAES. In 2024 13% receiving food were over 65.
Thirty-two percent of those coming for help live in households of 5 or more people. Many of these are multigenerational. 11% are single people living alone.

SUPPORTS:

WAES has been very fortunate financially. We have amazing donors that continue to support us through this very difficult time. Many of our donors have been supporting WAES for years, even decades. 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. We began to realize that if we continued to purchase at that rate, we would not be able to continue through 2025. We would either need to dramatically reduce our service model or even close our doors. In September Weston Golf Club hosted its third golf tournament supporting WAES. It was a great success with 20 individuals/businesses participating to raise funds for WAES. This was a big help. Then in late November we received an email. A new donor had come forward. Rochon Building Corporation reached out to offer to do a fundraiser for WAES. This was truly a miracle. Rochon offered to try to raise very significant funds. During December they set up a fundraising site, and the money was raised. Having this new, and significant, donation has ensured that WAES will be able to continue through 2025. We thank all our donors for their incredible support.

FINANCIAL DONORS

INDIVIDUAL DONORS: Individual donors step up month in and month out to ensure that we have the funds to keep the doors of WAES open to our community. Donations range from $20 to $10,000, and each one is important. WAES has over 270 generous individual donors, including 19 monthly donors through CanadaHelps. Every one of these donors has a reason to support WAES, and for that we are grateful.

FOUNDATIONS, SERVICE AND FAITH ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES:

Foundations: Kindred Foundation, Hylcan Foundation, Schneider Family Foundation, Wells Family Fund, Paul Butler Foundation

Service Clubs: Weston Lions, Knights of Columbus 3945, Rotary Club – Parkdale, High Park, Humber, York Lions, Rotary Club – Toronto West

Faith Organization: Central United Church, St. Phillips Anglican Church, El Bethel Miracle Gospel Church, Weston Presbyterian Church

Businesses: Rochon Building Corp, Weston Golf and Country Club, Loblaw (Weston Superstore), Mount Pleasant Cemetery Group, Weston Beauty Block 1LP, Weston Walks, ID Mechanical Inc., Retired Teacher of Ontario Dist16, CMS Hockey, Delta Bingo – Wilson Rd, Headway Salon, Kebbel Funeral Home, Devron South Station, Irving Tissue

Weston Golf Club; Carol (WGCC), Diana (WAES) and Daniel (Bridgecon); Loblaw; Diana (WAES), Jacinta (Superstore), Lesley (Loblaw); Knights of Columbus 3945; Steve (KofC) and Noellie (WAES); Weston Lions: Diana (WAES) and Roy (Weston Lions)

Three Volunteers from Rochon Building Corp came to help distribute food after raising significant funds for WAES. Nicole, Nadeem and Jashan joined our volunteer team of Diana, Fiona, Lynn, Rob and Pat. After Nicole returned to the office she emailed to say:

“ It was a very fulfilling day and we got to really see how things operate, I mentioned to our staff that it was a very humbling experience and that we don't realize how blessed we all are until we see how unfortunate life can be.”

FOOD DRIVES AND FOOD DONATIONS

Schools; St. John the Evangelist Catholic, Silverthorn Community, Pelmo Park Elementary, St. Cosmas and Damian Catholic, Sunnybrae Elementary, St. John the Evangelist Daycare, C.R. Marchant Middle School, St. Francis Xavier Catholic, St. Simon Catholic

Faith organizations; Weston Park Baptist, Central United, St. Philips Anglican, Salaam Foundation, Weston Presbyterian, St. Mary’s and St. Martha’s Anglican, St. John the Evangelist Catholic, St. Basil the Great College

Businesses; Veritas, Emery Village BIA, Weston Superstore, FreshCo Denison, Fiera Foods, Nonnina’s Table, MVR Cash and Carry, Frontier Transport, Rosemount Cafe, The Spirit of Aloha ‘Ohana Hula

Community; Weston Easter Egg Hunt, Weston Neighbours Group, Kate Spade Group – birthday kits, 12 Division, Councillor Nunziata, Club 260, 10 Wilby Group, Weston Minor Hockey, John Street Porch Music Night

Weston Park Baptist Church annual door to door food drive; Veritas Corp purchased requested food from the Superstore; Central United Church group put together backpacks for children; Phil from FreshCo Denison donated much needed items in December.

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 source of food that assists our ability to meet WAES’s need. In 2024 these deliveries represent about 20% of our food requirements.

WESTON PARK BAPTIST CHURCH: In December 2024 WPBC held their annual door-to-door food drive for the 30th year. 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 8,000 pounds of non-perishable food.

“Thank you for your priceless support last year and hope you can help us in this year as well.

I’ve almost completed my study for a Settlement Worker. I hope to find a job soon to be able to afford our own food and not depend on food bank because so many people are in desperate situation and need it much more..” Email from a community member Dec 2024

VOLUNTEERS AND STAFF:

Friday food distribution team; Tuesday food distribution team; Wednesday team date checking donations; Special December help from the Humber College women’s basketball team.

It was a busy year for all of us, but it was rewarding in being able to help others in ways that we can. Saying "it is what it is" and not doing anything will not improve the need in Toronto. I'm glad and appreciate that I can be a helper when needed in whatever way I can.” Email from an ongoing volunteer Dec 2024

WAES is blessed with over 55 amazing volunteers. Some of our volunteers have been with us for over 25 years, while others have come on board in 2024. 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 shop for the food we need from local grocery stores and MVR Cash and Carry. Several of the volunteers come from organizations that donate financially to WAES, like Antonia from Kindred Foundation and Roy from Weston Lions. They are doubly committed to our work in the community. 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. 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.

FINAL NOTE:

“Thanks to WAES I was able to eat, I didn’t even realize how much I needed the food bank until after I got my first bags of food. The fact that there was fruit, eggs, cereal and milk blew me away. At the time I was only eating ramen noodles (and sometimes with eggs) and I didn’t realize how much I missed fruit or eating actual food like potatoes (which I love). I was so excited after seeing bananas in my first initial bag that I ate them immediately for my breakfast and every time thereafter I ate them for breakfast on my way home from the food banks as I was excited for fruit.” Letter from community member Aug2024

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 continue to rise, people with low incomes, or on government assistance; be it Old Age Security, Disability Benefits or Social Assistance; are not able to cope. This is 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 since then has 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 supports 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: Diana Stapleton (Chair),Leslie Haller (Secretary), Edna Harding (Treasurer) Robert Heath, Norma Kent, Stephen Mabee, Sandy McCamus, Rob Parsons, Ken Sisson, Joe Swain.

Established in 1986

1 King St, Central United Church

416-247-3737

info@waes.ca

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

Charitable Organization #11

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