Church's food pantry in Hamilton's West Mountain a 'safe space' for anyone in need

This year's Make the Season Kind campaign is in support of Hamilton Food Share. Throughout December, CBC Hamilton is taking a look at food insecurity in the region and shining a light on the local efforts to help. 

Rev. Debbie McMillan and others behind a food pantry that opened this fall at St. Andrew's United Church in Hamilton's West Mountain say there are no socioeconomic boundaries to helping people in need.

A lot of research and work went into developing the pantry, which McMillan said continues the institution's "history of feeding people."

McMillan, who has been at the church since 2021, said she's not a "Bible-thumping Christian" and will sometimes take scripture metaphorically.

"But the piece about Jesus feeding the hungry … churches have to do this," she said.

"If churches in the 21st century are not feeding the people around [them] … then we're not serving a purpose."

Angela Best, a church member who's part of its outreach committee, led the weeks-long research to learn "what does Ward 14 look like," information needed to apply for a grant to the United Church of Canada that helped get the pantry up and running.

The pantry was donated by a Mohawk College class. The $2,000 grant helps with maintenance to the pantry and its supply of food, hygiene products and more.

Best and McMillan were surprised by some of the findings of the research, including how diverse the ward has become.

"When I was young and living in the lower city, [Ward 14] was a very affluent, very white, upper-middle-class neighbourhood that was highly residential with a high level of income and education," said McMillan.

And in some ways, it still looks like it might be. 

But Best said what meets the eye doesn't necessarily mean people aren't struggling.

"Oftentimes, what we don't see visually is that a lot of families are having to make the choice of, 'Do we pay our rent or mortgage before we feed ourselves and or our kids?'" said Best.

"You realize that you don't have to be homeless to be in need."

Food bank visits rising across Canada

Radhika Subramanyan, Hamilton Food Share's chief executive officer, said food need isn't as visible in higher-income neighbourhoods.

"The stigma around using food banks can make it harder for individuals in affluent neighbourhoods to seek assistance, leading to hidden food insecurity," she said in a statement.

Subramanyan added that fewer public transit options in these areas are another roadblock to accessing food banks.

According to Food Banks Canada, monthly visits to food banks nationally hit a record high of over two million in 2024, a six per cent increase since 2023 and a 90 per cent increase since 2019.

"Here in Hamilton, we're seeing nearly 30,000 visits from Hamiltonians monthly," said Ashley Mitchell, research development manager at Hamilton Food Share. 

She said it's become more common for people to visit food banks more than once a month.

"Some of them [are] having to come back three, four or five times [a month]," Mitchell said.

"And when we look at who's having to return three [times or more], over 50 per cent of those are households with children, so we do know that families are struggling."

She said the high cost of living, and having to choose between food and housing, is the main reason they're seeing an increase. 

"I think for a lot of families, when they're looking at what they can save on, they can't really risk losing their housing," Mitchell said.

Pantry has no 'policing' policy

The pantry opened on Oct. 27.

"For about eight to 10 days, our need was substantial," said Best. "Shelves were quite bare in the beginning."

The pantry is open 24/7 for anyone who needs it, even people who don't attend the church.

Best noted the pantry has a policy of no "policing."

"If that is [someone's] safe space for the day, by all means," she said.

The pantry doesn't take perishable food items but accepts donations and volunteers from anyone in the community.

Best said the pantry is looking for baby supplies, especially cleansing wipes. It's also in need of food supplies such as pasta sauce, macaroni, canned meat and school snacks, and hygiene products such as soap and shampoo, and feminine hygiene and postpartum products.