The local charity hit a record number of 26,278 mouths fed in 2025

A new year – and a new record.

For a third straight year, as the high cost of groceries continues to pinch family finances, the St. Thomas-Elgin Food Bank hit a record number of 26,278 mouths fed in 2025.

And while the number fell shy of the 30,000 mark that the food bank had feared, “we’re still needed,” says Karen McDade, the organization’s manager of public relations and administration.

“A food bank is still needed in this area.”

The John Street non-profit last year served 1,811 households – 927 of which were new to the food bank – representing 4,263 individuals.

That’s up from 24,949 mouths fed the year before, which was the equivalent of 1,740 households and 4,073 individuals.

Karen notes the yearly increase slowed last year compared to a jump in 2024 from 2023, when the food bank fed 19,424 mouths, so the panic that the food bank wouldn’t be able to meet demand, has calmed.

“We’re not, ‘Oh, my gosh, we’ll never get out of this!’”

But, Sarah Coleman, manager of operations, assesses the state of food security here and farther afield: “All across Ontario, and Canada, and here in our community, we’re still in a crisis. . . .  We’re still registering new people daily.”

Food bank clients are allowed a week’s worth of groceries every 21 days. The food bank also offers a summertime top-up program of supplemental groceries for families with children who, during the school year, benefit from school-based nutrition programs. Last year, the food bank distributed 2,291 top-ups valued at $18,000, up from 1,920 the year before.

To meet the need, the food bank relies heavily on community support. The organization has an annual operating budget of about $500,000 for operations and food purchase, president Cassidy Lawrence says, and receives about $1-million worth of donated groceries for distribution.

And community support is evident. Karen says 2025 was “a stellar year” for donations of food and money.

“It’s overwhelming, the kindness and thoughtfulness.”

Donations also have included upgrades to the food bank’s aging building. The one-time home to the Royal Canadian Legion Lord Elgin Branch 41, which still shares space, was put up in the 1940s.

On this particular day, Karen notes that, thanks to donations, she, for the first time, has working heat in her office and doesn’t have to rely on plug-in heaters.

A proper loading dock is on the food bank’s wish list but, at an estimated cost of $350,000, Karen says it’ll have to wait.

“(Renovations) are the last thing I want to spend money on. We want to spend it on food.”

The food bank this year hit another milestone – besides tallying a record high demand for its service.

After three years of detailed work leading to “binders upon binders” of policies and procedures, the organization has been accredited by Food Banks Canada, a national agency that sources and distributes food to affiliates like St. Thomas-Elgin.

Accreditation means a commitment to consistency and transparency of member operations – and, importantly, traceability of food in case........

© Sarnia Observer