Program Objectives:
According to a recently released (January, 2005) Government ofCanadareport 13.1% ofCanadians are regarded as being poor, including one out of every nine Ontario residents. According to a second national study released in October 2003 by the Canadian Association of Food Banks, the number of Canadians reliant on food banks has more than doubled since 1989. Each month an estimated 750,000 Canadians, half of them families with children, use the services of food banks. That’s about 2.5% of our population or one out of every 40 Canadians who face a regular challenge feeding themselves and their families.

Windsor Homes Coalition Inc. recognized the local need for food assistanceamong both itstenants and other low-income people more than twenty-five years ago and so established the WHCI Community Food Bank. The WHCI Bank assists anywhere from one to two thousand people annually, some 40% of which are children. Most of our Food Bank users, more than 80%, are non-tenant low-income people living within a mile of our 900 Howard Avenue location. Many of these users, as much as one third in any given year, are new food bank users, a fact which demonstrates the on-going community need for this type of assistance.

Program Overview:
Access to the WHCI Community Food Bank is open to any low-income, fixed-income or homeless person. WHCI tenants are allowed to use the Food Bank once every two weeks, while non-tenants have access once a month.  With rare exception 24 hours prior notice is required for all users. The Food Bank is open Mondays 1:30-4:00 PM, Thursdays 9:30-11:30 AM, and Fridays 1:30-4:00 PM.

The volume of food items dispensed by the WHCI Food Bank is considerable, and includes a wide variety of canned goods, dry food items, and various frozen and other perishable food products. Many of these items are donated while others are purchased.

The WHCI Community Food Bank also shares its food with other aid agencies including the Downtown Mission and the Salvation Army, as well as with other members of the Windsor and Essex County Food Banks Association.