By Chris Lewis | April 8, 2021
This year’s food drive by the Frosty Festival committee and the Mount Pearl Sports Alliance was one of the most successful yet, despite the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
That’s according to Frosty Festival chairperson Robert Hayes, who like dozens of other Mount Pearl volunteers, braved the damp, cold weather conditions Saturday to man reception points for donations of food and money from the city’s citizens. All week leading up the event, members of the city’s business community showed up early to make their contributions too.
Hayes admitted the success of this year’s food drive was slightly unexpected, given as how the past year has been a rough one for many people and small businesses.
“It went really well … One of the best ones we’ve done yet I would say,” Hayes said, noting that although they had yet to do a proper tally of all the food and money received, it was clear it would be well over what they had anticipated.
“This was a rough year, and we know that some of the people who had been donating for a long time now find themselves needing the food bank’s services,” Hayes added. “Food banks play a very important role, and right now the number of people making use of them is even more than it was a year or two ago. That’s why things like this food drive are so important right now.”
Hayes said that under normal circumstances, the donations from the food drive are kept and sorted at some local churches or schools but, since it would be difficult to get people in and out of those buildings, Hayes’ employer, Old Dutch, stepped in to provide the space needed. For the time being, that is where the food donations will be held while they are counted up for a final tally before being sent out to the food banks.
Hayes anticipates the final numbers will be ready by this weekend.
Some local businesses came forward with donations upwards of $5,000.
“Really, it was great to see it do so well this year,” said the Frosty chief. “Like I said, we all know the food banks need some extra help these days, and that’s what this was all about.”
