‘Everyone in the community knows that we care’: North Bay high schools collect over 15,000 lbs of food for city’s food bank
In the spirit of giving and thanksgiving, three North Bay high schools have come together to go door-to-door to collect food donations for the city's food bank.
It's an annual school tradition among the city's high schools and one school still has to go out and canvass its neighborhood.
“Everyone in the community knows that we care and that we want to make sure everyone else is doing well,” Carleigh Roy, a grade 10 student at West Ferris Secondary School, told CTV News.
Students from West Ferris Secondary School sorting food donations after their door-to-door canvasing. (Photo courtesy of West Ferris Secondary School)The Thanksgiving food drive was held Tuesday and Wednesday evening where students from West Ferris, St. Joseph-Scollard Hall Catholic Secondary School and École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin collected a combined total of over 15,000 lbs in food donations.Students from West Ferris Secondary School out canvasing for food donations on Oct. 5/22. (Photo courtesy of West Ferris Secondary School)West Ferris alone collected 10,143 lbs, St. Joseph-Scollard Hall gathered 2,350 lbs and École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin was able to collect 3,001 lbs at the door. That is a total of 15,494 lbs of food altogether.North Bay students from three local high schools collected over 15,000 lbs in food donations. (Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)“It's a weight off our shoulders. We know what we need to sustain our monthly hamper program,” said Debbie Marson, executive director of the North Bay Food Bank.
This tradition has been running for 15 years as a friendly competition between the area schools.
“We had a big group of guys. There were seven of us on one street,” said Wesley Buell, another grade 10 student at West Ferris.
“Some people even filled up our whole crates. So yeah, that was very fun.”A group of West Ferris Secondary School students showing how much food they collected canvasing for food donations on Oct. 5/22. (Photo courtesy of West Ferris Secondary School)Erin Robertson, a student success teacher at West Ferris, credits the student body participation but also the collaboration between all three schools.
“We had awesome student uptake and staff uptake and everybody in the community got behind this,” she said.
“It's been a great cooperation between all of the city schools.”
The food bank will use the donations for its food hamper program, which consists of non-perishable food items, pasta, soup and other products.
“We're looking at upwards of 400 hampers a month that go out,” explained Marson.
“When we see new people or people we haven't seen before, the numbers keep going.”
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Chippewa Secondary School had to postpone its canvass and will go door-to-door at a later date.
If your home was missed, you can still make a donation directly through the food bank.
More information on the food bank’s programs and upcoming events can be found on their Facebook page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.