CP Holiday Train supports LOL Food Bank

Quinte Regional Food Share Shelter | Nov 25, 2015

The CP Holiday Train is due to arrive in Belleville on November 30! Bring the family to this annual Christmas event with a donation of food or cash to support the Land O’Lakes Food Bank.

The train will arrive at Mile 91 Belleville Sub, west of storage facility, on Keegan Way adjacent to CP Tracks at 10am, and Devin Cuddy and Kelly Prescott will present a Christmas concert from 10:15 - 10:45 a.m.

The Canadian Pacific’s annual Holiday Train program is a rolling fundraising event that travels across Canada and the United States raising money, food, and awareness for food banks and hunger issues, hosting free holiday concerts along the way. Since 1999 the program has raised over C$10.6 million and 3.6 million pounds of food. Each Holiday Train is about 1000 feet in length with 14 rail cars decorated with hundreds of thousands of technology-leading LED lights and a modified box car that has been turned into a traveling stage for performers.

Land O’Lakes Food Bank is a member of the Quinte Regional Food Share Shelter (QRFSS), which is a collective of nine area food banks. The CP Holiday Train is one of the main fundraisers for the QRFSS and each member food bank gets a portion of the funds raised based on its use. Your support of the CP Holiday Train is support for the Land O’Lakes Food Bank operating out of Cloyne.

In 2001 the Quinte Region Food Share Shelter (QRFSS) was formed; it is a registered charity.

Food Bank Canada introduced this initiative to ensure that rural food banks could access food at a central warehouse and reduce shipping cost. The QRFSS is a collective of 9 area food banks that address the needs of many families and individuals in need throughout the Tri-County Region. This region includes food banks, meal programs and non-profit agencies in the following counties: Hastings, Prince Edward and Northumberland. The QRFSS is also a member of the Canadian & Ontario Association of Food Banks. Food banks are located in Brighton, Belleville, Cloyne, Loyalist College, Madoc, Mamora, Picton, Stirling and Wellington.

The QRFSS member food banks meet quarterly to discuss daily operations, fundraising and for fellowship. The largest food bank in this collective is Gleaners Food Bank of Belleville. Gleaners set up the Tri-County Food Network Warehouse to ensure donated food could be delivered to this region. This warehouse serves the QRFSS members, community meal program, school snack programs, and 150 non-profit agencies. (gleanersfoodbank.ca)