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Food bank support makes a difference, says Hayes

October 1, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

The world is generally a good place.

People generally have good intention to do well when they can. People from Dufferin County put themselves up for seats on municipal and county councils, despite the slings and arrows that responsibility can draw.

“And the community cares about its neighbours or we wouldn’t exist,” said Heather Hayes, Orangeville Food Bank’s executive director.

Hayes is a 12-year veteran helping keep the food bank shelves stocked for anybody who needs respite from food insecurity, and she said it never gets easier for her to update councils.

“Generally, I’m an optimistic person,” she said. “But after this many years giving this presentation, I feel like I’m only leaving you with negatives when I come out of a presentation like this.”

She gives presentations to municipal councils and the County of Dufferin. They’re updates on how the need for the food bank has grown since the previous presentation and ideas on how that need may be met.

Most recently, she even provided feedback to provincial Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy as part of pre-budget consultations. That was something she wanted to include when she spoke to county council on Sept. 24.

She said she started to write that she was optimistic that her three-minute colloquy with Bethlenfalvy moved the needle.

“What I meant to write was I believe my three minutes did not move the needle,” Hayes said.

She began tapping the Delete button on her presentation.

But then she stopped.

“And I thought, No, my three minutes did matter,” she said. “Like all our three minutes in this world regarding any issue we may have.”

Her issue is food insecurity.

“And I will always be a voice for food insecurity,” she said.

The numbers will show that she and the many volunteers at the food banks are moving the needle.

To wit: In 2025-26, the food bank distributed 697,000 pounds of food to clients and community partners. Of that, 235,000 pounds was purchased. Seventy-two per cent of what the food bank distributes is perishable, such as milk, eggs, produce, and proteins.

And there’s been a drop in donated food of 11 per cent, so that meant food had to be purchased.

There were 25,535 visits last year at the food bank in Orangeville and the Dufferin Food Share in nearby Grand Valley.

Of those visits, 33 per cent are children, 32 per cent of visitors are working people, and 45 per cent of the households were of single adults.

Oh, and there’s been a 20 per cent increase in seniors who used the service because pensions don’t keep up with the rate of inflation.

“You’re doing the absolute best that you can with what you have,” Hayes said. “And often the issues that you face, often the issues that I face are not always in our purview to be able to change.”

Speaking out and trying to find ways to address the issue is important, she said and thanked all the people involved with the food bank for using their voices to make the world a better place.

With an annual operating budget of $1.8 million, the Orangeville Food Bank is a significant community operation requiring people, facilities, transportation, warehousing, and infrastructure to safely and reliably serve the community, she said.

Every client visit is supported by much more than the food on the shelf. There’s the receiving and sorting of food, storage, transportation, food safety, volunteer coordination and client support.

“Food security is a community issue,” Hayes said.

Councillor James McLean, Melancthon’s deputy mayor, said Hayes doesn’t have to apologize that the information in her presentations isn’t all rosy.

“I think hearing the raw truth is incredibly helpful and we need to hear this from time to time,” he said.

Food security isn’t limited to the responsibilities of a single government portfolio, and no single level of government owns it, he said. It’s a disservice that nobody is accountable for funding food security.

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