By TERRY PUGH
Students from Holy Trinity Catholic School, Bishop James Mahoney Catholic High School and Warman High School will be making the rounds Halloween night collecting donations of food for the Warman Food Bank and the Hand Up Cupboard.
This year marks the third annual ‘Halloween for Hunger’ food donation drive in Warman. Last year, the event collected a total of 2,465 pounds of food in Warman, according to Brenda Stokalko, one of the organizers.
“The students will choose a route to canvass a week before Halloween and have orange flyers explaining details on the food drive,” said Stokalko. “The night of Halloween, they will return to their chosen route to pick up the donations between 4:30 and 9pm.
“We will have the students gather all the donations at the Warman Fire Hall on Halloween night to be weighed and compared to previous years totals,” she added. “There is always a growing need for help in all communities, and this is a great opportunity to annually get in the habit of doing the food drive on Halloween.”
The local Halloween for Hunger event is modelled on a similar event that has been going for several years at Bishop James Mahoney (BJM) High School in Saskatoon.
Bianca Stokalki, a Grade 12 student at BJM, spoke to Holy Trinity Catholic School students about the Halloween for Hunger event at a school assembly on September 18. The response from students was overwhelming, with many students picking up information for their parents. The number of students involved this year appears to be about double what it was last year.
In 2024, the combined amount of food collected in both the Saskatoon and Warman food drives was 18,177 pounds. Organizers say they are looking to beat last year’s totals, and believe that greater awareness of the event will make that happen.
Brenda Stokalko said if families wish to donate food but are out trick-or-treating with their kids on Halloween night, they can simply attach a ‘Halloween for Hunger’ flyer to their bag or box of food and leave it on their front doorstep, where students can collect it.
She noted that donations of non-perishable food items can also be dropped off at the Warman Home Centre Communiplex during the Family Halloween Dance on Saturday, October 25.
Donations can be dropped off on Halloween night (October 31) at the fire hall between the hours of 4:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
People who use the SARCAN ‘drop and go’ option can donate their refunds to the Warman Food Bank and handupcupboard@hotmail.com.
The Warman Food Bank (warmanfoodbank.ca) recently opened a new location at 407 Central Street in Warman. Donations can also be made directly to the Warman Food Bank. Its hours of operation are Tuesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.