The students of Mapleridge Public School and the Powassan and District Foodbank are creating a Human Food Chain to help fill stomachs and hearts this holiday season.
“It started about 25 years ago,” said Diane Cole, Coordinator of the Powassan and District Foodbank. “I would say at least 100 pounds (a year) if not more. We get enough that we can do a couple of months without having to do groceries. It can be personal products, it can be canned food, it can be pasta. It’s amazing that the children do this. It’s a big community event.”
On Friday December 5th, approximately 80 Mapleridge Public School students will form a human chain to pass food from hand to hand for approximately one kilometre to the shelves of the foodbank. They’ll be joined by educators, the mayors of Powassan, Restoule and Chisholm, firefighters, and members of the Powassan Voodoos hockey team. Diane says that while the event is festive and fun, it’s also a chance to teach children about giving back to the community they live in.
“They’re learning that there are people in need and they’re learning that they can help out. It could be classmates that they don’t even know about that they’re helping. It warms my heart when I see that the little ones are getting some sense of understanding.”
According to Food Banks Canada’s 2025 Hunger Count report, food banks across the country are setting new records. This year, they recorded nearly 2.2 million visits in a single month. That’s double the monthly usage recorded just six years ago. Statistics show more employed workers are visiting a food bank to make ends meet. Sadly, 700,000 visits to food banks in Canada each month are made by or on behalf of children. Diane told 705BLACKFLY.COM that the Powassan and District Foodbank serve about eighty to one hundred families monthly, and the need is growing.
“We open 3 Wednesdays a month, and I as a coordinator am thinking, ‘Oh my heavens we’re going to have to open a fourth’,” Diane says with concern. “Every week I have one or two new clients. It’s becoming a crisis. People can’t afford groceries. They can afford their living expenses like their heat and their water, but groceries are at the very bottom. People don’t have the money to buy groceries, and this is why they’re going to foodbanks.”
Luckily, residents and local businesses like Home Hardware Powassan and Hodge’s valu-mart Powassan have stepped up to support those in need.
“We are so lucky that we have been able to give meat which a lot of food banks can’t,” Diane said. “We give fresh produce, we give milk chits so that they can get the milk at the grocery store. We have been able to give much more because we have an amazing community. We cannot do what we do without the help of the community. They need to know how much we appreciate them.”
Every child should have a toy to open on Christmas morning. The Powassan and District Foodbank have a Christmas Wish List available on Amazon. You can purchase a gift online, and it will be sent directly to the foodbank. They are collecting toys until December 17th. Click here to donate from the list.
Fire departments across the 705 will be participating in Project Porchlight to collect donations for local foodbanks. All you have to do is leave a donation of non-perishable food items on your porch and leave the light on. Almaguin South Firefighters and Huntsville/Lake of Bays will be out on Wednesday December 3rd beginning at 6:30 PM. The Trout Creek Fire Department will be out on December 17th. For more information contact your local fire department. 705BLACKFLY.COM will also be posting events on our Facebook page.
