06/04/2026
"Closing a food bank might seem counterintuitive when dealing with hunger and poverty, but the Hamilton non-profit has shifted to an integrated system that supports dignity at every stage of life.
When Renée Wetselaar became executive director in 2018, she made a decision that raised eyebrows and ire, closing one of Hamilton’s first food banks.
At a time when demand for food security programs was increasing, the move seemed counterintuitive. When food banks sprang up in the 1980s after a recession that kickstarted the decade into despair, they were originally seen as an emergency response, never meant to be permanent.
Closing the food bank did not mean stepping away from food. It meant asking a harder question, what would it look like to address food insecurity differently?"
Read the full article by Deirdre Pike in the latest issue of Hamilton City Magazine:
https://hamiltoncitymagazine.ca/st-matthews-house-from-charity-to-justice
📸 Tim McKenna
