Station to Station with Joe Pavia

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region initially opened in 1984 “with the intention of being a response to a temporary crisis.”

Carolyn Fast, who was the Executive Director of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region from 1987 to 1990 explained in a 1989 interview that the crisis was becoming long term.

“Originally they thought that [the response] would go down after the recession,” said Fast.

“But that has not in fact happened. It has to some degree, but they found that certain categories of needy people have maintained and even increased after that time, for a number of reasons.”

Fast explained in the 1989 TV documentary “Food for Thought’ the need was caused by a chain reaction of events. They included low wages, inflation, and higher housing costs. Additionally, Fast said people were using the majority of their income to pay for housing.

That left them reaching out to the food bank and its agencies for help.