Redcliff RCMP gathering holiday food donations

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Ryan Dahlman

By Anna Smith
Commentator/Courier

Redcliff’s law enforcement will be waiting outside Redcliff Family Foods on December 19 with a singular goal in mind; to fill their vehicles with as much food as possible for the Root Cellar Food and Wellness Hub.

“The way we set it up is that we have our police vehicle there. The Redcliff bylaw joins us as well. We have our regular citizens on patrol, they come out,” said S/Sgt. Michael Courty, Detachment Commander. 

“Sometimes we have other people that come out and hang out with us, some representatives from the food bank and some residents from our representatives from town. I know we have some town councillors that come out as well and hang out with us,” said Courty. “And we are accepting any food, non perishable items, donations and any cash donations as well. And it all gets turned into The Wellness Hub at the end of the day.”

The team will be out from 1–6 p.m. on the day of the event to collect donations. This will be the third year that the RCMP has participated in their Stuff the Cruiser event in a row, and they’re hoping for mild weather.

“I think we’ve made sure that we’ve done it on the coldest day in December and we’re hoping this year’s weather, it’ll be a little more cooperative,” said Courty. In the previous two years, there have been extreme cold advisories in place for both events, with Courty recalling a -45 degree day last year.

There’s an unspoken challenge, said Courty, to meet or exceed each year’s donations, and this challenge is one they’re hoping to rise to yet again.

“We were in the thousands for the last three years or two years in a row. So somewhere around the 4000–5000 pounds range, and they also translate any cash donations into pounds of food as well,” said Courty.

The Redcliff RCMP will be accepting donations at the detachment, as well as at Redcliff Family foods, prior to the event.