The gift of giving

(Updated)

The gym at Nelson High School was a hive of activity tonight — but no one was playing any games.

The ninth annual “Gift of Giving Back” food drive in Burlington wrapped up about 10pm. But before it ended — the gym was packed with people picking and packing cans of food to help local food banks and families. Over two nights, hockey teams from Burlington dropped off all of the food they’ve been collecting for the past couple of months. Organizers are amazed at how much food kept arriving.

Jean Longfield, food drive organizer: “It is amazing. It’s astounding every year. We’re so surprised and so grateful to the generous citizens of Burlington.”

Marc Messier, Athletic Director, Nelson H.S.: “We have all of our classes in here today. Everyone was in here sorting food. We had kids setting up pallets. The entire school has bought in. They’ve been bringing in food. We’ve had competitions among the classes for the most amount of food. So the entire school has gotten behind this event.”

In nine years, the food drive has raised more than 750-thousand pounds of food. The hope is that after tonight, that total will top one million pounds.