The Calgary portion of the annual Purolator Tackle Hunger food drive has reached a milestone.

A total of 72,582 lbs. of food to benefit the Calgary Food Bank was collected at McMahon Stadium prior to and during Saturday’s game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. That raises the all-time total in the 15-year history of the program to more than one million pounds – 1,055,440, to be exact.

“I’m so proud of the fans for their tremendous support of Purolator Tackle Hunger again this year,” said Charleston Hughes, the Stampeders’ player rep for Tackle Hunger, who had three sacks in Saturday’s 27-10 win over the Roughriders. “One million pounds of food collected since the start of the Calgary program is an impressive total and this continues to make a huge difference for so many families in need.”

Fans making donations were entered into a draw to win an autographed Hughes jersey and also had the opportunity to pose for photos with the Grey Cup.

Stampeders players and personnel will be visiting the Food Bank in the near future to help sort all the food that was collected as part of this year’s program.

About the Calgary Food Bank
The Calgary Food Bank is a charitable organization dedicated to gathering and distributing quality emergency food to Calgarians and the agencies that serve them. The Calgary Food Bank is neither a government nor a United Way agency. For more information, visit www.calgaryfoodbank.com

About Purolator’s commitment to hunger
As part of its commitment to helping alleviate hunger in the communities where it operates, Purolator Inc. works closely with its employees, partners, agents, customers and food banks across Canada to collect donations and help raise awareness about the issue of hunger in Canada. Since its inception in 2003, the Purolator Tackle Hunger program has helped deliver the equivalent of more than nine million pounds of food to food banks across Canada.