Council approves allocation of $200K for local food programs amid food insecurity emergency

By Christena Lawrie, CFRC's Broadcast Journalist and Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

Wrapping up Kingston’s 2025 budget deliberations on Wednesday, Jan. 22, Councillor Gregory Ridge proposed an amendment to allocate $200,000 from the city’s Working Fund Reserve for food programs.

This decision follows council’s recent declaration of food insecurity as an emergency, with one in three households in the region being affected. 

Ridge emphasized that this targeted funding would support local hunger-fighting organizations, like food banks, facing increased demand. 

Counc. Brandon Tozzo, who seconded the motion, acknowledged the limitations of the funding, stating, “We’re not going to solve it. These are just different types of band-aid solutions that we are putting forward … And we’re going again and again, and trying to solve the problems of upper levels of government. And it’s frustrating we can’t, but we have to do something.”

Council unanimously supported the amendment, and city staff will report back in April on the fund’s allocation.

Listen to the full story here.