More than 3,000 kilograms of food was collected for Edmonton’s Food Bank over the weekend as part of one of three campaigns to stock the shelves.
On Saturday, Purolator drivers picked up red bags with food bank donations from Edmonton doorsteps as part of the 20th annual Purolator Tackle Hunger initiative.
The fundraiser takes place in 15 communities across Canada in partnership with the Canadian Football League.
In Edmonton, 3,199 kilograms of food was collected, Purolator says.
Also on Saturday, Edmonton’s Food Bank went door-to-door to gather donations with volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of its own donation drive.
Paper bags were left in many Edmonton mailboxes last week for residents to fill with donations.
Thousands of pounds of potatoes were also dug up from a field next to the Mr. Rooter Plumbing headquarters on 186 Street and 106A Avenue and donated to the food bank.
A spokesperson for Edmonton’s Food Bank says the total number of donations from the second and third initiatives have not yet been tallied.
Those numbers are expected to be released later this week.
“No matter how much food we bring in, the fact remains that Edmonton’s Food Bank is feeding an astronomical number of people, double from 2019 to now with over 40,000 people helped on average each month through just the hamper programs,” Tamisan Bencz-Knight said in an email to CTV News Edmonton.
Edmonton’s Food Bank accepts donations every day at Edmonton fire stations, most grocery stores and on its website.