REGINA & DISTRICT FOOD BANK INC.

Food insecurity remains a critical health issue in Regina affecting over 25 000 people daily. The Regina Food Bank has evolved since 1982 from offering short-term relief to becoming an essential partner in combating hunger in our community. In 2023-2024 we served 19 974 unique individuals - a 21.7% increase from the previous year - distributing 84 988 hampers and over 3.2 million pounds of healthy quality food. 52.5% of those served were women accounting for 86 683 points of service. This underscores the importance of addressing food insecurity among female-led households. Children continue to be a significant portion of those in need with 38% of our services (63 130 points of service) going to support young people under 18. This highlights the critical role the Food Bank plays in supporting families and ensuring children have access to proper nutrition. The Food Bank is also an important resource for newcomers to Canada with 36% of our services (60 148 points of service) supporting individuals who have been in the country for less than 10 years. This demonstrates our commitment to helping new residents establish themselves in our community. Indigenous peoples make up 19% of those we serve (30 623 points of service) reflecting our ongoing efforts to address food insecurity among First Nations and Métis populations. Seniors while representing a smaller percentage still account for 10% of our services (15 653 points of service) highlighting the ongoing need to support our older community members. These statistics illustrate the wide-ranging impact of food insecurity in Regina and the diverse groups that rely on the Regina Food Bank's services. Our goal is to continue addressing these needs while working towards reducing these numbers in the future. Food Hampers are designed to meet the immediate needs of people facing food insecurity. They are provided in person at the Regina Food Bank by delivery or through our network of 119 community agency partners and schools. Those we serve can receive a Food Hamper every two weeks containing an assortment of food items providing 7 to 10 days' worth of food based on the household's size. The composition of each hamper strives to meet Canada's Food Guide. The Non-Food Reclamation Program works directly with retail partners acting as a centralized distribution hub for essential non-food products. These include hygiene items household cleaning essentials kitchen and food storage items school sup