As the Edmonton Eskimos attempt to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders at the Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium Friday night, the team and Purolator attempted to do the same with hunger outside the stadium.
Friday marks the 15th time the Eskimos have teamed up with the shipping company for Purolator Tackle Hunger, an effort to collect food and raise money for the Edmonton Food Bank.
At the game, the Eskimos announced more than 130,000 lbs. of food was collected, shattering the goal of 100,000 lbs.
“It’s something that, if we have a job and things are well, it’s so easy to forget that people don’t have basic necessities like food,” president and CEO Len Rhodes said Thursday.
“We may not be able to relate to those challenges, but we’ve got to relate to that basic necessity that everyone deserves food.”
Anyone attending the game is encouraged to bring along a non-perishable food item or a cash donation. Everything raised goes to the Edmonton Food Bank and any donation will allow fans to take a picture with the Grey Cup.
Over the 15-year partnership, Purolator and the CFL teams have raised over 10.5 million pounds of food. The Edmonton Eskimos are responsible for over one million of that.
Food bank executive director Marjorie Bencz said the Eskimos have always been great partners and were the first professional sports team in the country to host a food drive for their local food bank.
“We feel very privileged because Purolator and the Edmonton Eskimos have been very generous with their support for Edmonton’s food bank and helped us raise awareness and funds for us.”
On Friday afternoon, Rhodes tweeted that the team had sold over 40,000 tickets.
“Not done since 2014 in the CFL regular season,” he said.
A few of the giant Eskimos tarps that cover some of the seats in the upper bowl were even removed to free up more seats.
During Thursday’s press conference Rhodes told media that, with 40,000 people coming to the game, each person would only have to bring 2.5 lbs of food to get them to their 100,000 lb goal.
The food bank is coming off a successful Heritage Festival food drive that saw the organization receive over 60,000 kg of food, but they’re still dealing with a growing number of people utilizing the organization.
Client numbers reached a record high in 2016 and the food bank says demand only continues to grow in 2017.
“I love the cause of this event,” Eskimos wide receiver and Purolator ambassador Adarius Bowman said. “All fans, make sure you bring your non-perishable food items or cash donations to the gates.”
Each month, between 20,000 and 24,600 people are served through the hamper programs, according to the food bank. The organization also provides food for programs delivered by over 250 agencies, churches, schools and food depots.
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