After a whirlwind morning, members from the Cochrane Fire Services managed to collect half the amount of last year's month-long food drive in just three hours. On Saturday morning, several Cochrane Firefighters went to Save-On-Foods and asked shoppers to pick up non-perishable food items to donate to the firefighters' annual veterans food drive. "It was quite overwhelming the amount of food we got in short space of time," said Ian Stewart, one of the firefighters helping with the food drive. Two and half truckloads of food are now being stored at the firehall until the end of the month, when the drive wraps up. The firefighters are hoping to surpass last year's donation totals which was five truckloads of food. This year, the food will also be donated to two different charities – the Veterans Association Food Bank, a replacement of the former Calgary Veterans Food Bank, which was run by the Royal Canadian Legion and shut down in September. Donations will also be made for the first time to Legacy Place Society, which aids in emergency housing, funding for mental health care and more for veterans, emergency responders and corrections officers. "They fly under the radar a bit so it's nice to send them a bit of love as well," said Firefighter Alex Vague, who is ex-military and spearheaded the Save-On-Foods drive last weekend. The food drive will run until the end of November. Those interested can drop off non-perishable food items, household cleaning products, toiletries or baby supplies in the donation bin outside of Cochrane Fire Services building. Cheques made out to the Cochrane Firefighters Foundation and cash can be brought to fire services personnel at the fire hall. All funds raised will go toward purchasing donation items to be delivered to the Veterans Association Food Bank and to Legacy.
