A cross-country food drive has netted 21,007 kilograms of food for hungry Victoria families who rely on hampers from the Mustard Seed food bank.
The Great Canadian Food Fight wound up Saturday. The Mustard Seed and five other Canadian food banks in Regina, Nova Scotia, Waterloo, Prince Albert and Newmarket competed for donations.
Regina topped the donations, bringing in 134,000 kg while Waterloo region brought in 54,000 kg. Feed Nova Scotia, which serves the entire province, collected 48,000 kg. Prince Albert brought in 9,500 and Newmarket got 6,600 kg.
All the food banks were winners, since the period from October to Christmas is historically a slow time for food-bank donations.
“I can’t thank this commuity enough for their support,” food bank director Brent Palmer said in a statement released Sunday.
The final total fell short of expectations, he said. Last year’s food fight brought more than twice the food by weight, at 44,900 kilograms.
Palmer said he’s grateful for the efforts of volunteers who assisted in collecting and sorting the foodstuffs.
The Mustard Seed expanded their drop-off locations this year and also had more corporate sponsors.
Anyone who missed donating to the food drive but wants to help out is welcome to donate to the Mustard Seed online at mustardseed.ca or by visitng 625 Queens Ave. or calling the food bank at (250) 953-1575.
