It wouldn’t be October in Saugeen Shores without “Sharecrow” sightings. More than 100 pre-Halloween scarecrow displays dot almost every corner of Port Elgin and Southampton. At each scarecrow there is a food donation bin, making it a combination food drive and scavenger hunt. “We create a Sharecrow tour map, which is kind of like sending people out on a scavenger hunt. Totally fun. So, they take with them nonperishable food items, and they go around, they find the scarecrows, and all the scarecrows have treat bins. So, we ask people to leave treats for their favorite scarecrows, and then we collect all that food, and share it with our four food banks that we support in our community,” explained Cheryl Pauchuk, organizer of the Sharecrow Food Drive. Last year, the Chantry Island Cham-Bettes, a local nonprofit community organization, collected more than four tons of food and $10,000 in donations during their Sharecrow Food Drive, which runs until Nov. 1. “We don’t just feed people with this food drive. We’re also feeding community spirit, creativity and inspiring change. So, it’s a fun way to tackle a very serious problem,” said Pauchuk. Pauchuk says the food collected helps fill the void in giving between Thanksgiving and Christmas. “Our breakfast programs have now grown into breakfast and lunch programs at our schools. And, yeah, it’s just continuing to rise. We’re now looking at one in four Canadians, which is our community too, who are in some way feeling food insecurities,” said Pauchuk. “Hidden hunger exists, and this is a way that families can get involved in a creative way. What a wonderful way to teach our kids something,” added Cham-Bette member, Jan Mitchell. This is the sixth year for the Sharecrow Food Drive. Pauchuk wants other communities to jump on board and help their food banks with their own version of the Sharecrow campaign. “We’ve kind of got an event in a box ready to go for service clubs and nonprofits to host. So, this year we have Kincardine that is hosting Sharecrows, as is Wasaga Beach, and the City of Welland. We’re excited to have them as Sharecrow family members and hopefully inspiring a lot of other service clubs to step up and play with us next year,” said Pauchuk. You can learn more about the campaign on the Sharecrows website.
