Cenovus staff make generous donation to Veterans Food Bank
Collection of 5,500 kg of food will help meet demand amid downturn
Nearly 5,500 kilograms of food was donated to the Veterans Food Bank on Tuesday by generous Cenovus staff.
As part of its annual Thanks and Giving Campaign, Cenovus works to give back to Albertans facing harsh economic times.
“Even in this challenging oil price environment, and with a smaller workforce, our employees in Calgary really came through this year,” said Leanne Courchesne, Cenovus group lead, community investment.
To help make contributing easier, Cenovus had collection bins set up on virtually every floor in each Calgary office location.
Staff are also still tallying food donations made at field locations in Alberta and Saskatchewan that will also go to food banks in those areas.
The latest surge in donations is welcome news to officials with the Veterans Food Bank who have worried in recent weeks whether support would meet growing demand this year.
Late last month, the annual Poppy Fund campaign kicked off to help refill the food bank’s barren shelves, which spokesman Joey Bleviss said were more empty than he’d ever seen in his six years on the job.
But since word of the need has spread, donations have poured in, particularly over the weekend, which saw huge efforts by the local Canadian Army Veteran Motorcycle Units and a Stuff This Truck event with the Canadian Military Tribute Truck in Royal Oak.
Because of particularly tough economic times, Veterans Food Bank officials say they’ve had to spend $50,000 in donations to keep food shelves stocked this year, compared with $10,000 they normally spend.