Edmonton Elks fill food bank hampers ahead of Purolator food drive

Purolator employees and Edmonton Elks' members are seen at the Edmonton Food Bank on July 3, 2025, preparing for the Purolator Tackle Hunger Game Day Food Drive. (CTV News Edmonton/Darcy Seaton)

Members of the Edmonton Elks put down the football in exchange for non-perishable food items Thursday as they helped the food bank prepare for the Purolator Tackle Hunger Game Day Food Drive.

The drive is taking place July 6 at Commonwealth Stadium, where the Elks will take on the Ottawa Redblacks.

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Last year, the game day food drive saw fans raise nearly 24,000 pounds of food for the Edmonton Food Bank.

“This is huge for us,” said Tamisan Bencz-Knight, manager of strategic relations and partnerships with Edmonton’s Food Bank. “The Edmonton Football Club was the first football team to support a food bank across the country.

Originally, back in the 1980s, the drive was called “Be a Fan, Bring a Can: Tackle Hunger.”

Canadian courier Purolator took on the initiative over 20 years ago to bring the program across the country. Since then, the food drive has delivered over 25 million pounds of food nationally.

“Not only are we able to stock some shelves because of the volume of need here, but we’re able to raise some money and have a good time while we’re at it,” said Bencz-Knight.

Bencz-Knight said 41,000 people a month came to the food bank last year. This year, they’re seeing 43,000 on average. She said in 1996, their average was about 19,500 people – which was a lot at the time.

“Our numbers keep going up,” said Bencz-Knight. “We have to continuously bring in food and funds to be able to serve the community. We’re not government-funded, and it’s events like this – the players, the staff, the teams – that are out there helping us do our work.”

She added that such events during the summer time are especially important as people mostly feel generous around the holidays.

People can bring donations to the Elks’ game Sunday at 5 p.m. or you can make a monetary donation here or through the Edmonton Food Bank.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Darcy Seaton.