Food insecurity is a big issue in London, ON, with many people and families needing help to meet basic needs. Jane Roy, the Co-Director of the London Food Bank, emphasized the challenges and the important role the community has in supporting the organization’s work.
London Food Bank (credit XFM News)
“With regards to food insecurity within London, we are, of course, one of the biggest agencies within London that deals with food. But we’re only one of many,” Roy explained. “We right now are serving, you know, 5,800 families a month, about 16,000 to 17,000 individuals a month directly. And we serve, you know, another 30 agencies and programs, things like that.”
The London Food Bank operates without government support, relying entirely on community support. “Community donations are huge for us. We live and die by how the community responds, and London has been amazing in keeping up with the demand both financially and with food,” Roy explained.
Roy noted the sharp increase in demand over the past few years. “What we’ve seen over the past little while in particular is a tremendous rise, obviously, in people needing food assistance. There are obvious reasons for that. But in terms of the increases that we’ve seen, we’ve basically doubled over the past three years. Our increase in 2024-2025 hasn’t been as great, it was only about 6%. But before that, we were seeing 40% and 50% increases almost every year, and it’s getting quite discouraging,” she said.
Jane Roy London Food Bank Co-Director (Credit londonfoodbank.ca)
As Ontario residents receive $200 rebate cheques from the government, Roy encouraged those who are able to use the funds to assist people in need. “When it comes to the $200 rebate checks, there’s mixed feelings obviously with regards to that and what people do with them,” she said. “If you’re one of those families that are obviously really struggling, it’s important that you use that yourself. But for others who don’t need it as urgently, donating it to organizations like the Food Bank or directly helping neighbors in need can make a real difference.”
Roy explained that contributions of any size have a meaningful impact. “$200, if it’s direct, makes a huge impact. If it’s through a group like the Food Bank, that obviously gets turned into food and donations. We do a homeless lunch program, and that’s about $5 a meal in essence. So you’re basically looking at about 40 meals in that sense that will help 40 people if it comes into our location,” she said. “The value of what we’re giving right now is about $150.00 for a family of four, but that costs us, you know, one-tenth of that. The donation goes to purchase groceries but also to, you know, pay for the vehicles and the gas that go pick up donations.”
Roy concluded with a hopeful message, encouraging community members to consider the ripple effect of their contributions. “It’s a huge impact because it’s not just the $200; it’s, you know, the $5.00 or the $10 that gets added to what other folks are donating as well,” she said.
