The canned food drive is synonymous with St. Charles College. Each year the staff, students, alumni and feeder schools collect cans and raise money in support of the Sudbury Food Bank.

The mission is to fill the shelves in preparation for the cold and dark winter months. The drive started in the mid 1980s but this year it all looked rather different.

Principal Aaron Barry says “students could not go door to door with Covid precautions. Our student council team under the leadership of Mrs. Demore, Mrs. Humphrey and Mrs. Montgomery opted to sell Cardinal face masks in support of the charity.”

The face masks were sold to students online to avoid cash transactions and were created in collaboration with local business Covergalls Workwear raising $4500 for the Sudbury Food Bank.

Normally the drive brings upwards of 100 000 food items to the food bank each year making it the largest single contributor to the food bank.

The school recognizes that the donation is much smaller this year given the circumstances and is urging people to remember the food banks this holiday season and beyond.