EDMONTON -- Edmonton’s Food Bank is benefiting from a surplus of food items left over from the NHL’s western hub city activities.
Over 45,000 kilograms of food that was unused in Edmonton’s NHL bubble was purchased by the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation (EOCF) for just over $100,000 then donated to Edmonton’s Food Bank.
During a Thursday morning photo op, EOCF Executive Director Natalie Minckler told CTV News that this is the first investment that her organization is making using proceeds from its recent online 50/50 draw.
“Albertans were so supportive of (the 50/50) throughout the play-in rounds and also the Stanley Cup Finals,” said Minckler. “We’re delighted that it’s really the entire community that is helping us to make this donation today.”
Minckler added that the timing of the donation was important to the EOCF.
“It was really important, as we head into the Thanksgiving weekend that we wanted to get this food to the food bank so that they can distribute it to individuals and families and agencies and put it to work in the community,” she said.
Several palettes containing food items like popcorn, pumpkin pie mix and peanut butter were loaded on to the EOCF truck during Thursday’s photo op at Rogers Place.
“This is a lovely donation,” Edmonton’s Food Bank Executive Director Marjorie Bencz said.
“Some of it’s larger quantities,” she said. “So that can be used at soup kitchens and other shelters and then some of the smaller packages can be used in our hamper programs to individual families.”
Minckler told CTV News that the EOCF hopes to make its next donation announcement in the next few weeks.
