The Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Holiday Train will be making a stop in Chatham on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
The Holiday Train supports food banks in each community it stops in by raising money, food, and awareness for food insecurity issues.
Attendees are asked to bring along a nutritious food item to donate to Chatham Outreach for Hunger.
"They're not here very long, about 15 minutes. But they come in with some great entertainment, this year it's Seaforth and Kiesza," said Brenda Leclair, Executive Director of Chatham Outreach for Hunger. "We will be collecting donations for Outreach for Hunger, which is something that the Holiday Train is promoting this event for, for food banks all across Canada."
The train will stop behind the Holiday Inn Convention Center located at 565 Richmond Street in Chatham at 2:30 p.m. and Leclair said some special things planned before the train pulls up.
"We'll be serving hot chocolate. There might be a special guest, I think his name is Santa, he's going to show up," LeClair said. "We're going to have some candy canes for the kids. It's coming together really well and we're really excited, and hope that everyone comes out to see it."
Leclair added that right now the food bank is in need of protein, pasta, and canned fruits and vegetables.
"We're good for tomato products right now, but otherwise it's pretty much anything going into the holiday season, into the winter months. Things that your family's going to want on their tables, and I always say this, they're want it on their tables too," she said.
With the cost of living on the rise, Chatham Outreach for Hunger has seen a big increase in people using the food bank.
"More families are coming in than ever before, seniors, and certainly we have a great number of people who are living on the street," said Leclair. "We're definitely getting busier, things are not getting better as far as people who are needing support."
CPKC makes a donation to the local food shelf at each stop. Since its inception in 1999, the campaign has raised more than $22.4 million and collected 5.15 million pounds of food to support those in need nationwide.
