BROCKVILLE,, ONT. -- While the weather may have looked like mid-November in Brockville Saturday morning, that didn't stop people from donating to the Brockville community food drive.
"The weather is truly Canadian today," said Brockville resident Joe Norton. "We're in May and its snowing. Yeah, this is Canadian."
This was the second food drive in the city after the first one in April was a success.
"The reaction from the first one was better than we could have anticipated," said Brockville Mayor Jason Baker. "The community really rallied behind it and we were able to donate about five trailer loads of food to the food bank here in town.
"If there's a third one, maybe we'll do it in the actual spring if the weather arrives," Baker said, laughing.
The food drive is a partnership between Brockville City Council and the Brockville Winter Classic.
Jeff Severson is the organizer for the Winter Classic and he was hoping for a repeat of the first drive.
"We hope to get a lot of money and food for the Loaves and Fishes, along with the Brockville Food Bank but, at the same time, just giving people some spirit and some uplift in their lives they otherwise might not be getting right now," Severson said.
"The reaction from the first one was awesome," Severson added. "Overwhelming. People were writing notes on boxes thanking us for what we were doing. At a time like this, people need to come together, so I feel this helped bring people together in this time of need."
Residents were glad to come together to help on behalf of the Loaves and Fishes—who serve meals to the community—as well as the Brockville and Area Food Bank.
Bob Richards is a front-line worker and gladly put a bag of food out at the end of the driveway.
"I think it's an awesome idea, the fact that they're collecting items for all the people in need, especially during these times. It's a great idea," he said.
Norton felt the same way at his home in the southeast end.
"It's fantastic. There's lots of people coming out, lots of food going out, and tremendous support in the community right now."
Two teams split up on the east and west sides of the city over a span of two hours to collect donations. People we asked to leave their donations at the end of their driveways, to practice physical distancing.
Once the routes were finished, it was off to sort all the donations
The total haul was a bit less than the first food drive back in April, but organizers were still happy with the community support.
"Just seeing people on the porches, they don't have the ability to donate really, and that's okay, they're taking in the music and it was, yeah, the support's been awesome," said Severson. "A lot of people out taking pictures and videos. It's a lot of fun."
When asked if a third one would happen in the coming weeks, Severson said never say never.
"Maybe it'll be something different. Always looking for ideas," he said.
