Demand for Christmas food program so 'overwhelming' it crashed House of Friendship's phone line

House of friendship saw over 1,000 requests within one hour of opening registration for its Christmas Food Program.

The battle for a spot on the list to get a frozen turkey and a gift card led the Kitchener-based organization's phone line to crash and, at one point, a 986-person queue on their website.

The group says the program allows people to share a holiday meal with loved ones.

The numbers are up from their previous high of about 300 people, said Clare Wagner, community services director for House of Friendship.

She said they had prepared for a higher need this year but the volume of demand was still more than anticipated.

"It was truly overwhelming and it wasn't what we hoped to see," Wagner told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition. "But…it wasn't a total surprise either."

Wagner said that compared to this time last year, they're delivering over 20 per cent more food hampers to people in Waterloo region. But they're not alone. According to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region's 2024 Community Impact report, about 73,000 people accessed food assistance programs through the food bank's network of agencies more than 565,000 times in the past year, marking a 25 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

That's the highest demand in the food bank and House of Friendship's history.

"We knew that it was going to be up, but not to that level," said Wagner.

"We know that support hasn't been keeping up with the cost of living. And so people make choices," said Wagner. "They have to pay for their rent and their utilities, and food sometimes falls off the table."

House of Friendship's food hampers support 4,600 households, representing about 16,000 individuals and Wagner said they're approaching the limit – however, registration is still open.

She said that even when the list is full and registration for the hampers closes, they'll ensure people know about other programs they can take advantage of during the holiday season.

When it comes to donating food, Kim Wilhelm, CEO of the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, said that food items high in protein and low in sodium are the most preferred items.

As we move into the colder months, Wilhelm said "some hearty stews and chilies are really important. Things like pasta, canned meat and fish."