When Kim Metzger approached Sooke council requesting $50,000 for the Sooke Food Bank (SFB), she didn’t think she would get it – and she didn’t. What she really hoped to do was start a conversation.
Metzger believes that without more opportunities for people in Sooke to support themselves, through work or education, no matter how much money the food bank receives the need for their services will continue to grow.
“Our town is in desperate need of some entry-level jobs or education opportunities,” said Metzger, the president of the SFB, or “Kim the food bank lady,” as she humorously referred to herself.
“We know that when people are employed, even if they’re not making huge money, they don’t necessarily need a food bank unless something happens.”
For the small food bank, demand is up in no small way.
“When I started in 2012, a busy week for the food bank was 75 hampers,” said Metzger. “In 2025, 75 is considered really nothing, and that's hampers, not people.”
Now, on a busy day, the food bank serves hampers to 150 households, with upwards of six new households applying every week, with many returning even after they’ve “gotten on their feet.”
“If we ever had a situation where every person registered at the SFB needed to access the SFB, I’d be servicing 5,000 people,” said Metzger, who further highlighted a need for more jobs and better transit in the community.
“You can’t just house people, you have to bring in supports, and those supports are falling onto the food bank,” said Coun. Al Beddows, who highlighted a lack of provincial support when the request for funding came to council on March 10.
“We have a bigger problem here, and we need to get on with getting some advocacy to the province to ‘get off your ass and start supporting people.’”
As food costs increase, donations have fallen 21 per cent over the last year as longtime donors struggle to contribute, meanwhile there has been a 7.44 per cent increase in the number of children accessing its services.
The organization is keeping on top of things as much as possible and, so far, can meet the growing demand. Metzger’s request to council was pre-emptive – a response to the writing on the wall that continues to bolden, forecasting a tough future.
“It’s stressful, and it's not sustainable. It's so not sustainable. We’re good for now, but as a community, we have to think about this.”
Metzger believes a more holistic approach is necessary – one that includes investment in work and education opportunities that support the local economy by keeping Sooke residents in Sooke, especially if the district continues to develop new housing without providing proper opportunities for new residents.
“A lot of money has been thrown into food insecurity, even in our own community, yet my numbers keep going up. So, what are we doing wrong?” she said.
“To have people rely on food banks every week for their food is not sustainable. We need to have situations where there are educational and practical opportunities for people in our community so they’re not busing out.”
Even if she received $50,000 from the district, she says it wouldn’t be a game changer – it would just go back into keeping up with the work they already do.
For Metzger, the issue isn’t strictly about money – a rare case for small non-profits.
In fact, the food bank’s service agreement was doubled as recently as last May.
“When you spoke to us last year, I took careful note that you mentioned policies to reduce hunger,” said Coun. Jeff Bateman.
“There’s a whole list of advocacy needs: raise provincial minimum wage levels, increase the stock of affordable housing, increase addiction support and services, implement a guaranteed annual income – a basic income – raise pension levels for seniors, increase social assistance benefit levels, increase levels of provincial disability income supports, increase mental health supports. These are all matters above and beyond the basic need for you to service these individuals.”
The SFB has already begun offering more than just food services. It now hosts a nurse and nurse practitioner on a weekly basis, who effectively run a small drop-in clinic.
“It’s so much more than just food. If it was just food, the problem would have been solved a long time ago,” Metzger told council, further stating that more funding for seniors and those on disability would make a massive impact.
“If seniors and people on disability were funded properly, one-third of our clients would go away. One-third – that’s a huge amount.”
