Five Minutes With… ·
Five Minutes With the Barrhaven Food Cupboard
Amy Larin · Director, Communications and Community Engagement, Barrhaven Food Cupboard
The Barrhaven Food Cupboard is run entirely by volunteers and funded entirely by supporters, and it is not part of the Ottawa Food Bank network. In 2025 it helped 1,436 families, and more than a third of them were asking for help for the first time. The Food Cupboard told the Bugle what a week actually takes, what its own annual reports say about the need here, and where rising food prices are starting to bite.
The Food Cupboard is 100% volunteer run and 100% funded by supporters, and helps hundreds of families every month. What does that actually take, week to week, to keep going?
“The Barrhaven Food Cupboard operates entirely through the commitment of its volunteer workforce, whose dedication to strengthening local food security is central to our mission. As a 100% volunteer-run organization with no paid staff, our ability to serve the community depends on the dedication of these individuals. To be more precise, in 2025 our organization benefited from the dedication of 200 active volunteers, contributing more than 18,500 logged hours. We are also not affiliated with the Ottawa Food Bank, meaning that we do not receive food, funding, or operational support from them. All food purchases, storage, inventory management, and distribution activities are managed in-house. Our facility operates seven days a week, requiring consistent volunteer coverage across multiple essential functions. Each day, volunteers provide front-line client service, manage food acquisitions and shelf stocking, collect donations from community drop-off locations, coordinate outreach with partner organizations, and deliver food to clients with reduced mobility who cannot access our Walter Baker Centre location. In addition to these core activities, the Barrhaven Food Cupboard maintains a community garden that produces fresh produce for our clients. Volunteers plant, tend, and harvest the food, providing additional nutritious, locally grown food to our clients.”
Your 2026 AGM documents are now up on your website. For neighbours who have not read them, what do they say about the need in Barrhaven and how the Food Cupboard is meeting it?
“In 2025, we continued to see rising demand for our services while facing steadily increasing food costs. Higher prices not only made it harder for many Barrhaven residents to maintain food security, but they also made it significantly more challenging for the Barrhaven Food Cupboard to meet that growing need. Over 2025, 1,436 families, 5,596 individuals in total, turned to us for support, and more than one-third were new clients seeking help for the first time. At the same time, food prices kept climbing. Our monthly food expenses rose 14% compared to 2024, driven by sharp increases in several essential items. Carrots went up 62%, onions 36%, and dried beans 17%, all of which put additional pressure on our budget and operations. These trends have continued into 2026. Meat prices, in particular, continue to rise, making it increasingly difficult for us to offer every client a meat option, a core part of our food program since the beginning. Week by week, our operations team reviews what we can purchase and makes decisions about distribution, so clients receive a reliable supply of food. Although we have not yet had to reduce or substantially modify our food offerings, the ongoing increases in staple food prices, combined with growing demand for our services, make this a more likely possibility as the year progresses.”
For someone here who wants to help, with time, food, or money, what makes the biggest difference right now, and what helps people be helped with dignity?
“Every form of support makes a meaningful difference. Volunteering, helping us raise awareness, especially since many Barrhaven residents still don't know we operate independently of the Ottawa Food Bank network, and donating all play an important role in keeping our services running. Right now, monthly donations of any amount are what give us the operational stability we need. Like most charities, our financial support fluctuates throughout the year, and those peaks and valleys make long-term planning extremely difficult, particularly when faced with changing food prices. Steady monetary donations allow us to plan ahead, manage rising costs, and maintain the level of service our community relies on.”
What's something about Barrhaven only a local would know?
“The Food Cupboard's home, the Walter Baker Centre, was opened in October 1980 and was originally named the South Nepean Centre. The centre was renamed in 1983 in memory of Walter Baker, the local Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton from 1972 to 1983. It houses the Ruth E. Dickinson branch of the Ottawa Public Library, a pool area with 4 pools, 2 gyms, 4 squash courts and 2 hockey rinks.”
Who in Barrhaven should we talk to next?
“The upcoming Barrhaven Annual Carnival 4 Kids may be a good feature.”
This interview was conducted in writing through the Bugle’s interview form; answers lightly edited for length and clarity.