Students who attend St. Paul, St. John, St. David, St. Raphael, St. Andrew, Pius and St. Bernadette Catholic elementary schools have wrapped up their food drive collection efforts. Now the focus is on the students at St. Charles College.
Students from the seven schools spent last week going door-to-door to collect cans and other non-perishable food items to help the Sudbury Food Bank stock its shelves over the cold winter months.

Now the St. Charles College students begin their drive starting with their kick-off next Monday. Every year the high school teams up with Q92 and KISS 105.3 to Stuff a Bus full of food. The radio stations also broadcast live from the school parking lot during the week. The food is then transported to the Sudbury Food Bank warehouse.

Student can collect a combination of canned foods and cash. Last year, they surpassed their goal by collecting more than 112 thousand cans.

The food drive began more than 25 years ago and its founder, former student Jim Szilva still takes part in the drive with his former high school.

Totals will be tabulated, with a wrap-up set for October 23rd.

St. Charles College students and soon-to-be Cards are on a mission from October 7 to October 11 to collect 60 thousand cans of non-perishable food to feed the hungry in our city.  The more than 950 students at the school, along with students at several of its feeder schools are helping tackle the huge feat. 

With a professional development day scheduled for Friday, October 11, it’s an even more daunting and onerous task to average 15 000 cans per day for the next four school days with a wrap-up aimed for Thursday, October 10th.

Last year, the students shattered their goal for 60 thousand cans by delivering a whopping 121 thousand cans to the Sudbury Food Bank – making it the largest single donation in the history of the Sudbury Food Bank.

The founder of the food drive at SCC, Jim Szilva told the students that the food drive starts at the ground and works its way up with feeder schools like St. Raphael, St. David, St. Bernadette, St. Andrew, St. Paul, St. John and Pius XII working with students in grades nine through to twelve in the high school to accomplish the mission.  Szilva started the drive when he attended St. Charles College more than twenty-five years ago. 

The school and Szilva are teamed up with local radio station Q92 and KISS 105.3 to “Stuff the Bus”.

Q92 host Melanie Dahl asked the students to remember the times their belly ached because they felt hungry.  “Most of you can ask your parents for food or head to the fridge.  But consider for a moment you could not do that.”

General public is invited to assist with the stuffing of the bus by visiting the city transit bus each morning between 7 and 9 a.m. at St. Charles College with monetary or canned food donations.  There are some added incentives this year – including the option to fill out a ballot to win a ticket to the Sudbury Kinsmen home. 

The bus will also be on location at Vrabs Independent Monday afternoon, Dumas Independent Tuesday afternoon and at the Metro on Lasalle Wednesday afternoon.