The fall food drive surpassed all expectaions.

Jackie Shier, Helping Hands Society, Executive Director, says this was the most successful food drive to date, thanks to generous Cochranites.

"This fall food drive we collected 1050 boxes of food, we expect to see a few more box-fulls come in over the next few days as people will donate once they find those 'sorry we missed you' cards on their doorstep. So far we have collected just over $3000, but again we do see some donations come in by mail over the next few weeks."

Shier is hopeful to be over $4000 in donations and 1100 boxes of food; she was not only pleased with the amount of food collected but also the volunteer hours the drive generated.

"This drive was probably our biggest one yet, we had over 500 volunteers out knocking on doors, collecting, and in sorting at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre."

This food drive has filled the shelves at the Cochrane Food Bank, and Shier adds, this year it was critical.

"This is a crucial time for the food bank, the demand in Cochrane has gone up by 22% in the last year. Before our next drive it is going to be 7 months so they needed extra boxes to help fill the shelves to last them a little longer. September is also a very difficult month for families they have school fees and club fees,  at the end of the month they may just not have enough money for food."

If you would still like to donate you can drop off your donations at Safeway, Save on Foods, and No Frills.