​KDSS Christmas Knights collect almost 2.5 tonnes of donations for Kincardine Food Bank

The Kincardine District Senior School (KDSS) Christmas Knights returned Saturday morning, after a five-year hiatus, and certainly made up for lost time, collecting almost 2.5 tonnes of donations for the Kincardine Food Bank.

Eighteen teams of students, in Grades 7-12, and their volunteer drivers travelled throughout the Town of Kincardine, gathering up non-perishable items and then dropping them off at the Kincardine Anglican Church of the Messiah where food bank volunteers gratefully accepted them and packed them into crates and boxes to be stored.

“What a spectacular event,” said Nan Grant, one of the co-ordinators of the food bank. “The kids and their drivers collected 4,943.25 pounds of donations which is just under 2.5 tonnes or 2,243 kilograms.”

In addition, the students collected $1,465 in cash donations, said Grant. “It was a huge success and we are so very grateful to all the students, staff and parents involved and to all of the food bank volunteers who date-checked and sorted everything in record time!”

“I am beyond thrilled with the generosity of the community and the hard work and effort of the students who spent three hours in snowy weather going door-to-door,” said staff advisor Kathy Cottrill. “I am using this revival of the Christmas Knights as a foundation-building year. We had 18 enthusiastic teams participating, in both elementary and secondary levels, covering routes all across Kincardine and one in the Huron-Kinloss neighbourhood south of Saratoga Road. That is a lot of ground to cover and the students hustled to do their best.

“We appreciate the understanding of the public whose homes got missed, and are grateful for them delivering their donations directly to the food bank. It was a very positive experience for the teams and we hope to expand next year with more teams interested, allowing us to split routes up and help reach more homes.

“A huge thank you to the dedicated volunteers at the food bank as they worked all day receiving, sorting, and storing donations. We truly are so fortunate to have such incredible people providing a very important service in our community.

“The students finished their morning back at the school with a meal graciously provided by No Frills, Sobeys, and KDSS teacher Jon Farrell’s food classes, with the expertise of the Kincardine Lions Club barbecuing for the students!”

Grant said the food bank goes through seven to eight tonnes of food per month, providing basic necessities to those in need. The food bank’s budget is about $10,000-$12,000 per month, she said.

Located at the Anglican Church of the Messiah on Russell Street, Kincardine, the food bank is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you would like to make a donation, contact kincardinefoodbank@gmail.com.

A reminder to check the expiry dates on the products before you donate them to the food bank.