For 35 years, the Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive has been working for “one more can.”
The need is greater than ever, but thankfully, so is the community support.
At an event at the culmination of the campaign, the man behind the campaign was remembered once again.
A Vale Divisional Shops employee for 36 years, Burton started the annual food drive when his daughters encouraged him to begin collecting at work. That drive has grown to include other business, schools and community groups.
On Dec. 14, supporters and staff gathered at the Food Bank to celebrate another successful campaign, which ran from November through December and is expected to collect more than 115 tons of food. In addition, Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. and Vale have each donated $50,000 in support of the Food Bank.
At the Dec. 14 event, several speakers representing the food drive’s community partners shared not only the importance of the event, but memories of the man at the heart of the campaign, including Edgar Burton’s wife, Sharon, who wept and thanked the crowd.
“One more can,” she said. “One more can.” It was the refrain of her late husband, whose goal was to raise one more can than the year before.
“We don't normally ask for more until we need it. And now we need it. Like we estimated for this year's campaign, it's probably around 115 tons, which is a little increase in the drive goal from previous year,” Sudbury Food Bank Executive Director Dan Xilon told Sudbury.com.
“However, although it's a tiny increase for the Edgar Burton Food drive, the use of food banks and providers is growing exponentially.”
He notes that in September alone, the Sudbury Food Bank member agencies' programs were accessed more than 17,000 times.
Campaigns like this are helpful, said Xilon, as the food bank receives no stable funding . “Technically speaking, the Sudbury Food Bank gets no regular government funding. We are here, because you folks, the community, have decided that no one's going hungry on your watch.”
Xilon also notes that many people who must use the food bank, remember the help they received, and give back when they can. “We had a man who was without a home, and when he got one, he came back to us with a donation.”
And donations do not have to be large, or difficult, said Xilon. “We have boxes everywhere, buy two more cans of food with your groceries and put it in the box.”
There were speeches from representatives of the United Steelworkers Local 6500 and 2nd Irish Battalion, both groups who worked tirelessly on the campaign.
There were also representatives who brought with them one big donation. Both Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. and Vale donated $50,000 each to the food drive, allowing the food bank to purchase food in bulk, making each dollar raised equal seven dollars in food.
And before his passing in 2010, Burton launched the Kids Helping Kids campaign. Brad Smith, representing the Rainbow District School Board as their organizer of the kids campaign, shocked those in attendance with the amount the students raised: $50,000 as well as 13,000 non-perishable food items.
“We believe the Kids Helping Kids component of the food drive instills the act of philanthropy in children and young adults at an early age, hoping that the spirit of generosity will last a lifetime,” said Smith. “And through this initiative, our students learn values that contribute to a rainbow District School Board's mission of enabling students to become confident caring members of society.”
And though the need is great, the spirit of Sudbury is able, and with the Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive, there will be a happy holiday for all, both the givers and the receivers.
For more information about the drive and the Sudbury Food Bank, visit their website, found here.
Jenny Lamothe is a reporter with Sudbury.com. She covers the diverse communities of Sudbury, especially the vulnerable or marginalized, including the Black, Indigenous, newcomer and Francophone communities, as well as 2SLGBTQ+ and issues of the downtown core.
