The August long weekend may seem like Christmas for the Edmonton Food Bank, but that feeling won’t last long.
The Food Bank will receive thousands of pounds of food to re-stock the empty shelves in its warehouse after the Purolator Tackle Hunger food drive at the Eskimos game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 2, and the Heritage Festival presented by Servus Credit Union at Hawrelak Park that follows from Aug. 4-6.
“It’s the most Canadian thing ever,” said Eskimos middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt, who has been the team’s ambassador for the Tackle Hunger game the last three years. “it’s just good people giving back to the community.”
Tamisan Bencz-Knight, the Edmonton Food Bank manager of strategic relationships & partnerships, said the Tackle Hunger game is “a key event for us to help bring in some more public donations of food, to help us get food back on the shelves, to get it back out in the community.
“Yes, it seems like a huge amount coming in right at the beginning of August, but I would foresee by a couple of weeks into September that food is going to be gone.”
Bencz-Knight said most people think about donating food during the festive season – the Food Bank receives between 60 and 80 per cent of its food and funds from the public in the last 45 days of the year – and “unintentionally forget about us over the summer.”
“Unfortunately, hunger doesn’t take a holiday over the summer months,” she added. “We still have our wonderful donors from the major corporations and food industry partners, but it’s the monetary donations that come in at this game, as well as the actual food donations from the public, that will help replenish our basic staples that we provide in our food hampers.
“If you come into our warehouse, it doesn’t look completely empty because it is a warehouse, but it does look mean and lean and bare considering that we have a lot of purchased food on our shelves right now because we have to plan that we don’t have the public donations.”
The Eskimos collected a record 141,145 pounds of food and $57,855.80 in cash donations in roughly four hours at last year’s Tackle Hunger game, which also featured the Roughriders as the opponent.
“It’s not just one person, and it’s all of us working together and saying this isn’t right, let’s say ‘No’ to hunger, let’s make a difference, let’s make sure the shelves aren’t bare over the summer months,” Bencz-Knight said. “A big thank you to everybody who has helped us in the past, but the need is still there.”
The Tackle Hunger project is an exciting event for the participants roughly from 90 minutes before the gates open until halftime.
“Once we get the trucks parked, it’s a whirlwind,” said Bencz-Knight. “We have to get the boxes out, volunteers show up, people show up, and it just goes, goes and goes. We’re very fortunate that the Eskimos have been leaders with this campaign with Purolator, but, honestly, the Saskatchewan fans are just awesome to us, too. We try to get the Saskatchewan-Edmonton game for the engagement from the community as well as the volume of people who attend those games.”
The Food Bank will have about 100 volunteers available around The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium to help collect donations and pack them in 80 to 100 boxes, which will then be loaded into one- and five-ton trucks to take to the warehouse. Purolator will also have donation boxes and volunteers on site “because we just need bins everywhere for the people,” according to Bencz-Knight.
Football fans are also encouraged to bring a red Purolator bag full of food donations, but Bencz-Knight realizes that’s “slightly taboo” for an Eskimos game because Purolator’s signature red colour matches Edmonton’s arch-rival Calgary Stampeders.
“So we’re really hoping people will see red, but not in that way,” she said.
The Eskimos organization will also provide volunteers. The players’ wives and their families have usually helped in past years.
“It’s all hands on deck for those four hours,” said Bencz-Knight, “but it’s definitely going to be a lot of fun. The Eskimos take it up a notch for that festive feel for that event.”
Besides the usual pre-game events – the Coors Light FanFest and tailgate party – anyone donating food or funds can get their picture taken with the Grey Cup at Gate 10, and the new Esks Force Hype Team dancers and Esks Force Drum Line will be performing inside and outside of the stadium.
“There’s going to be things to look at whether it’s our wonderful Saskatchewan Roughriders fans with the watermelon helmets or our Edmonton Eskimos fans with their beautiful trumpets or blowhorns and it’s loud, and it’s fun, and it’s impactful in so many different ways,” said Bencz-Knight.
For anyone wondering what to bring, Bencz-Knight suggested donating something you like to eat yourself.
“If you enjoy beans without pork, bring in beans without pork,” she said. “If you enjoy macaroni and cheese, bring that in or your favourite soup, whether it’s mushroom or tomato. We can always use cereals, and healthy school snacks are always a key item – no added sugar, low sodium, maybe even the nut-free ones we can actually share with all of our schools heading back at the end of August.
“Definitely, our favourite non-perishable food item is a monetary donation,” she said with a smile. “It’s lighter. We can do a lot more with it.
“But any high-protein, non-perishable food item is appreciated.”
Sherritt said he’ll be bringing a box of food that includes rice and canned goods to the game.
“I’m not a great chef, so that’s about all I got,” he said.
He pointed out that his teammates have been encouraged to get more involved in the food drive this year.
Purolator has been running its Tackle Hunger program across Canada since 2003, but Bencz-Knight pointed out that the Eskimos actually started the fundraiser.
“Definitely, Eskimos fans, as well as rival fans when they come out to our games, support our work,” she said. “When you think about it, both sides contribute to the cause. The biggest takeaway for me is no matter who wins or loses, and the Food Bank wins at Purolator’s Tackle Hunger game. The Food Banks get to walk away with wonderful support from the community.”