News Release
Mayor Kelly shows the way for the National Food Fight
(Halifax, October 14, 2010) – Mayor Peter Kelly will make Halifax Regional Municipality’s first donation of food to the National Food Fight which begins this evening.
The Mayor will personally deliver 1,000 cans of tomato soup supplied by the Campbell Soup Company to a special weigh-in station set up at Exhibition Park by sponsoring Feed Nova Scotia.
As he prepared to load his car at City Hall with the boxes of soup, the Mayor paid tribute to Campbell’s for its community spirit.
“This contribution of food, and the hundreds more I anticipate will be made by big-hearted HRM residents during the next two days, will go a long way towards easing hunger in our midst,” said the Mayor.
The Food Fight is a three-way challenge involving HRM and the cities of Victoria and Regina. The idea is to see whose residents can collect the most donations for local food banks during a 48-hour blitz starting at 6 o’clock this evening.
This is HRM’s first time participating and HRM’s target is 200,000 kgs of food, almost 40,000 kgs more than achieved by last year’s winner, Regina. That would help provide a week’s supply of groceries for the 20,000 hungry Nova Scotians who depend on food banks each week.
“I encourage everyone to come out and help collect food donations for this deserving cause,” urged the Mayor. “Residents of HRM are known for their spirit of giving and I look forward to seeing an army of individuals, groups and organizations pitching-in during these two days.”
Mayor Kelly said he was so confident HRM will achieve its goal that he has laid a side bet with his two counterparts. The two runner-up mayors must promote the winning community for a day by wearing its colours and flying its flag.
According to Feed Nova Scotia, the special 48-hour weigh-in station at Exhibition Park will double as a drop-off point for donations of food.
Food can also be dropped off during designated hours at the following locations: Feed Nova Scotia on the Bedford Highway; select Canada Post offices; Burger King on Illsley Avenue and ADP on Eileen Stubbs Avenue, both in Burnside; Payzant Building Products on Sackville Drive; Sobeys at Penhorn Mall and Mumford Road; KOOL FM Studio on Kempt Road; and CBC Radio at Sackville and South Park streets.
Full drop-off details are available at www.feednovascotia.ca/foodfight.
Those who have collected a large amount of food, 10 boxes or more, and cannot drop it off are asked to call Feed Nova Scotia at (902) 457-1900 in advance.
On Saturday, volunteer Canada Post employees will visit select streets to pick up donations of non-perishable food from residential doorsteps. Notification cards have already been distributed to residents of those areas where this service will be available.
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Contact:
Mayor Peter Kelly
Halifax Regional Municipality
(902) 490-4010
