HAMILTON, Ont. — Caravan Logistics has partnered with Feed The Children Canada (FTC Canada) to provide food for 1,500 needy Hamilton-area families.

This year marked Caravan’s first time being involved with the annual food drive, which took place Thanksgiving weekend at Ivor Wynn Stadium in Hamilton Oct. 11.

In addition to providing two 53-ft. trailers for transporting food from the FTC Canada warehouse in Guelph to Hamilton, Caravan also provided more than 35 volunteers for the afternoon event, hosted under tents at the outdoor stadium facility. Employees and their families prepared for the event by setting up tables and supplies, handed out food boxes and bread, and also carried the 22-lb. family food boxes to waiting vehicles.

“If we can offer a helping hand for 1,500 families on Thanksgiving and it puts a smile on their face, then it’s good for everyone involved,” said Denis Iwaniura, manager of corporate accounts for Caravan.

“We heard directly from families on Saturday that they were so grateful for the box of food,” said FTC Canada president, Ken Dick. “In some cases this helped supplement a Thanksgiving meal, for others this was the meal all together.”

The community initiative has been dubbed “Hage’s Heroes” after Hamilton Tiger Cat centre Marwan Hage, who has volunteered as part of the event since 2008. Donations were collected in partnership with numerous churches, businesses, companies and individuals, according to officials.