CambridgeToday received the following letter from Doug Craig, a regional councillor for Cambridge. This letter was originally sent to Cambridge council on Jan. 24.
Mayor Liggett and Cambridge City Council,
It’s very apparent in Cambridge and throughout Waterloo Region that there is a growing need to address a number of social issues ranging from affordable housing to mental health needs to food insecurity.
As recently reported, the Cambridge Food Bank has been searching for a new location over the last four years with little success to this point.
As a result, their ability to adequately serve the community is being hampered daily by an unsatisfactory facility that is causing issues with storage and the handling of food within the building.
I think it needs to be noted that 10 per cent of our residents lack food security and one in eight live below the poverty line. This has resulted in an increase of 800 to 2,100 families now accessing food supplies on a monthly basis.
Clearly, this is not sustainable and the recent public cries for help from the Food Bank need to be addressed. What comes to mind is the need for a more robust and comprehensive community approach to assist the indisputable efforts of the Food Bank.
Therefore, let me respectfully suggest that a community roundtable be established by Cambridge City Council. This forum would invite members from the wider Cambridge community that would include but not be limited to representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, our local realty group, the Food Bank executive and our local MPPs and regional representatives.
The purpose of this roundtable would be to publicly address the urgency in finding a new location and in securing other sources of government funding in financing a new facility.
The Food Bank needs our help and that cannot be understated. It’s at a critical juncture and I would suggest they need a wider public involvement in helping to secure positive outcomes for all our residents experiencing food insecurity now and into the future.
Doug Craig
Cambridge
