This Saturday (Oct.19) marks the running of the annual fall Helping Hands Food Drive. And this year, Terrance Haxton is urging each and every household to participate in the food collection.
“Twenty-five thousand pounds of food just doesn’t work for me anymore,” said Haxton, coordinator of the bi-annual food drive and facilitator for Helping Hands. “If we can’t hit the 30,000-lb mark, there’s something wrong.”
The grand total will be tallied on the day of the food drive, Oct. 19.
Beginning at 10 a.m., volunteers will be grabbing bags of food from doorsteps in Cochrane communities and dropping them off at the Bow Valley Baptist Church, where the food will be sorted, packed into boxes and delivered to the Cochrane Food Bank.
Haxton said only about one-third of Cochrane households participate in the food drive, which is organized by Helping Hands and Cochrane Family and Community Support Services (FCSS).
“I’m always encouraging more and more households to participate,” said Haxton. “We’re only asking for one or two items.
“I’d like to be in the position where the Cochrane Activettes have to find auxiliary space to store all the boxes of food.”
The food collected by the drive will go to fill the shelves at the food bank, which is operated by the Activettes. Haxton hopes the goods from the drive will, not only last through the Christmas season, but until next year’s spring food drive.
More than 500 volunteers are on board for the event, including crews from Bow Valley High School’s rugby team, the Springbank Air Cadets, the Riverview Community Association, as well as members from the faith community.
“It’s wonderful to see everyone coming together,” said Haxton. “People from all different backgrounds coming together for a common goal.”
Food bank bags will reach Cochrane households this week, with the intention of being filled with non-perishable foods and placed on the home’s front steps for pick up. Haxton urges residents to have the bags outside before 10 a.m.
Cochranites can also drop off donations at Safeway, Sobeys and Mark’s No Frills.
Donations from the Bearspaw area can be dropped off at RockPointe Church, while residents in Springbank and Bragg Creek can drop food off at each location’s community centre, said Haxton.
For additional information about the Helping Hands Fall Food Drive, contact FCSS at 403-851-2250.
