Watch: Yellowknife students form food drive human chain

Hundreds of students at Yellowknife’s École St Patrick High School spent their Friday afternoon shuttling food hampers to the city’s Salvation Army.

The yearly tradition – dubbed Operation Christmas – began in 2010 and involves students forming a human chain to transfer hampers the short distance across downtown Yellowknife from the school.

Following speeches in the school gymnasium, St Pat’s Interact Club students led a procession toward the Salvation Army and the hampers began to flow.

“You feel like you’re really doing something locally that you can actually visually see,” said school principal Don Reid.

“The pile of groceries and food items that we’ve had inside has been building over the year. It’s just so great to see kids involved and engaged.”

Teacher Christina Silzer said the human chain is intended to demonstrate students’ connection to the school and the community.

“The idea was that students actually are part of that connection from our school to the food donations, physically … so every student is part of the process,” Silzer told Cabin Radio earlier this week.

Salvation Army executive director Tony Brushett said this week the organization is having difficulty meeting this year’s kettle campaign goal of $45,000 in donations. With eight days left, the charity had collected $23,000.

Brushett said students’ cooperation would help support food banks and “make sure we can look after people through Christmas and over the cold months of the year.”

“We’re happy today seeing St Pat’s students doing this for the 13th year,” he said, “forming this human chain where they deliver food for our food bank, which is very low right now.”

For the Salvation Army, he said, the students’ hamper drop was an “added blessing” on top of the charity’s plan to spend the day registering people for Christmas toys.

The Salvation Army’s Beverly Howell-Brushett, addressing students minutes before the human chain began to form, said food security is a big issue – and everyone deserves the dignity of coming to a food bank and being served.

“It’s very important to understand that students here are not necessarily the future’s leaders, they’re leaders today,” she told Cabin Radio.

“They have a place in the community right now. They have lots of gifts and skills. It’s a wonderful feeling all around to help out one another. To be a good human, that’s just it.”