THUNDER BAY - It’s the time of year for giving back, and those who serve the public every day, continue to step up to help those most in need.
Police officers across the city were busy stuffing cruisers full of food on Saturday for the 6th Annual Stuff-a-Cruiser Food Drive.
“We are very busy this year,” said Ontario Provincial Police, provincial Const. Diana Cole. “We’ve had a great response fro the public.”
This year officers from the OPP, Thunder Bay Police Service, Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, Anishinabek Police Service, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Canada Border Service Agency, were at eight grocery store locations including Odena Foods, Metro, Safeway, Superstore, and Walmart to collect food on behalf of the Regional Food Distribution Association.
“Last year we were over the 14,000 pound mark,” Cole said. “We are hoping to exceed that this year. We’ve had a great response, and I think we are on target for that or more. All the officers have said donations have been coming in frequently and we are quite successful.”
This year was a huge success, with the food drive bringing in more than 20,000 pounds of food and raising $5,863 for the RFDA and the Rural Cupboard Food Bank.
Cole added that all the officers volunteering are there for the same reason, to help those in need during this time of year, and ensuring everyone has food on the table for the holidays and the winter months to come.
But the success also relies on the generosity of the community, which Cole said gets stronger and stronger every year.
“The people of Thunder Bay and the surrounding communities are such generous people,” she said. “It’s such a generous community and city, that’s the way this city is. They just want to help others. We are here as officers, and civilians, and volunteers, and we want to do the same for the public as well, help them out during this time of need.”
