Cash calendars raise $60K for Sudbury emergency food bank

Tens of thousands of dollars were raised for a Sudbury emergency food bank through the sale of calendars.

A big cheque for $60,000 was delivered to the Inner City Home of Sudbury on Friday morning.

The money is from cash calendars sold by the Knights of Columbus Sudbury Area.

“The Knights of Columbus is a men’s catholic fraternal organization and we have 14 councils here in Sudbury that group together sell these calendars in order to benefit the Inner City Home which is helping out the needy people in Sudbury,” said Don Larocque, Knights of Columbus member and treasurer of the calendar committee.

Officials at the Inner City Home said they rely almost solely on community donations to meet the need.

“When you see the children, it breaks your heart,” said Joe Drago, president of Inner City Home of Sudbury.

“See these young kids that don’t have enough to eat and they are really, really in need of somebody supporting them.”

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Inner City said it also costs more than $250,000 annually to operate locations in New Sudbury and downtown on Elm Street.

And sometimes, there are unexpected expenses.

“We had a major break-in about a year ago, so we put out exterior lighting right around the building,” said Drago.

“And that was something we hadn’t counted on but necessary.”

Officials at the non-profit emergency food bank said they people coming in increasing numbers every day.

Clients can visit once a month and the food bank said it serves more than 15,000 people each year between the two locations.

“We have an arrangement with the National Grocers that for every $1 cash that we bring over there, they give us $3 of purchasing power,” said Drago.

“So my blurb always is if you give us a can of soup, we get a can of soup. But if you give us $1, we have $3 of purchasing power.”

Officials at Inner City Home said the donation from the Knights of Columbus will be used strictly to buy food.

With the donation, the food bank will now be able to purchase $180,000 worth of groceries.

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