Hundreds of students will be knocking on doors across North Delta next Thursday as part of Delview Secondary’s massive annual one-night food drive.
Thanks 4 Giving (or T4G, as it’s affectionately known for short) isn’t your typical school food drive. Every October, the bulk of Delview’s student population, as well as the school’s entire staff and dozens of parent volunteers, come together to collect tens of thousands of non-perishable food items, returnable recyclables and cash donations in support of the Surrey Food Bank and Deltassist.
Over the last 32 years, T4G has become a cherished part of life at Delview, something both returning students and incoming Grade 8s look forward to every fall, with planning getting underway virtually as soon as school begins in September.
“T4G has been a really important and crucial event for our community for the past 32 years," T4G committee member and Grade 11 student Joshua Thoreson told the Reporter.
"We do this as a school community because we’ve seen how impactful it is, on both the students and how impactful it is for the [wider] community," he said. "It’s been a tradition for our school for so long, and it’s a tradition that we want to keep continuing.”
For those who have never experienced T4G firsthand, the event has the atmosphere of a block party. Excited conversations overlap and intertwine with upbeat music blaring from the gym, while teachers, parents, kids, community leaders and volunteers all move about the school with purpose and passion, a smile on each and every face.
“It’s very energetic. Like, when you enter the gym, even at the beginning of the night, you can feel everyone’s really excited and everyone has adrenaline rushing through them and they can’t wait to go out and help the community. And when you get back, everyone’s usually soaking wet [from the rain] and still incredibly excited,” Grade 12 student and T4G committee member Kelly Braun said.
“The week leading up to T4G, there’s a strong sense of anticipation, and then all throughout the night-of it’s like — it’s a weird word, but joyous, because you're so excited to be there and everyone’s so excited together, and you just kind of vibe off of each other," added T4G committee member and Grade 12 student Addy Hebden.
"At the can [total] reveal, the screams from the collective community all packed into that gym is deafening. It’s crazy how loud it is.”
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T4G was started by teachers Ron McNeill, Barb Woodford and Sandy Ferguson in 1992 under the name “Ten-in-One” (10,000 items collected in one night).
Since then the event has collected over 460,000 'cans' for local food banks — to say nothing of the thousands of dollars in cash donations raised over that time — and become the largest one-night canned food drive in the province.
“Even though we’re a small school, we’ve made a big difference,” said T4G committee member and Grade 9 student Ravleen Pelia.
The school set a new record last year, collecting 26,449 non-perishable food items to best the previous high-water mark of 26,411 items set in 2017 for the event’s 25th anniversary.
This year, organizers have an ambitious goal of collecting 30,000 'cans' — in part to inspire their fellow students, but also because, as Thoreson put it, “the need has never been greater."
"The Surrey Food Bank, and all of the food banks in our community, really need that support. So 30,000 is not a lot to ask for in order to support the year-long need that the Surrey Food Bank has.”
To achieve their goal, teams of students will fan out across the community from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, collecting donations door-to-door and bringing them back to the school, where they will be counted, sorted and palletized for pick up the following morning.
There will also be a multi-lane drive-thru at the school where the public can drop off non-perishable food items, cash and recyclables.
Most-needed items organizers hope to collect include canned fish and meat, healthy and high-fiber cereal, canned and dry soups, canned fruits and vegetables, whole grain rice, pasta and pasta sauce, meals in a tin (such as pork and beans or stews), and baby formula (large cans preferred). Items must be new, and the food cannot be expired.
Leading up to the event, organizers have also set up a donation box outside Delview’s front entrance where people can drop off non-perishable food items between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on school days.
Monetary donations can also be made in advance of next week's food drive by dropping off cash or a cheque made out to "Delview Secondary" at the school's office (9111 116th St.), or by giving online at cimsweb.deltasd.bc.ca/publicconnect/districtpayonline.aspx?id1=DL&id2=T4G.
“There’s really no excuse to not help out during T4G. Even if you don’t live in the area that we collect from, if you’re within driving distance you can come in the night of and drop off cans. If you’re a business, you can advocate for T4G. You can tell people about it, you can donate money, anything really," Hebden said.
“You can also support the Surrey Food Bank throughout the year, because this is not just a one-day event; this is a need in our community that needs to be supported throughout the year," Thoreson added. "So even if you don’t support this specific event, keep supporting your local food banks, keep supporting the community, because that’s really important.”
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