July 16, 2010

CFL alum raising food for those in need

By: St. Catherine’s Standard

Hunger doesn’t take a holiday.

It’s true that food banks tend to be more aggressive about collecting donations around the big holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. But the fact is people need to eat year round.

“People don’t often think about the summer, but the need is still there,” said Cory Ward, a unit manager at Purolator. “That’s why we are doing this.”

Ward was talking about the annual Tackle Hunger program the company runs each year. Partnered with the Canadian Football League, Purolator hosts events in cities around the country to collect donations for local food banks, Ward said. On Saturday, the program hits St. Catharines at two Niagara Spears minor football games.

“We did an event recently in Niagara Falls, and this time we are in St. Catharines,” Ward said. “We normally don’t do this until later in the summer and into the fall, but the need is so great right now and people are really hurting. So we decided to do it a little bit early because people need help now.”

To draw people to West Park School where the games are held, former Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Brian Hutchins and Ralph Scholz will be on hand to sign autographs and collect donations of non-perishable food items for Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold.

Ward said the Purolator crew and CFL alumni will be at the school from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The kickoff times for the two Spears games being played are 1 p.m. 4 p.m.

“We’re going to be there all day,” Ward said.

Betty-Lou Souter, CEO of Community Care, said recent hot temperatures are putting more stress on those with limited resources. Use of air conditioners pump up electricity costs, and a growing number of poor and homeless people are showing up at the food bank looking for clean water to drink.

For more information on Tackle Hunger, go online to www.cfl.ca/purolator.

glafleche@stcatharinesstandard.ca