The Crossfield and Madden Food Bank was originally expecting 10,000 pounds of donated food after Crossfield’s Kraft Hockeyville run ended in April. What arrived on May 8 was more than double.
Kraft Heinz delivered 23,000 pounds of food — a 12-pallet shipment that food bank co-founder Cheryl Longeway called both overwhelming and sustaining.
"We’ve been wanting a food bank and working towards it for years, and not only to have it — makes me cry — but then to get this amazing donation from Kraft, which will keep us going," Longeway said.
Crossfield was one of four national finalists in the 2025 Kraft Hockeyville competition. Though it didn’t win the $250,000 grand prize, the town received $25,000 for arena upgrades and $10,000 in hockey equipment.
What no one expected was a separate commitment: a 10,000-pound food donation to the local food bank. That pledge, announced during the April 6 broadcast, turned out to be just the beginning.
"Originally, they were going to give 10,000 pounds to a local food bank," Longeway said. "But Kraft has made a dedicated effort to try to support food banks, so they just topped it up to 23,000 pounds — 12 pallets."
Angela Wigglesworth, president of the food bank, said the scale of the donation stunned them.
"As Cheryl said, it’s $3.50 a pound, which translates to about $70,000 worth of food that we don’t have to purchase," she said. "We can really make our dollars stretch to help as many families in the community as possible."
Longeway said the impact will be felt on multiple fronts.
"It’s going to be huge," she said. "It’s going to support the hampers we give out every year, but it’s also going to support our top-up market, which we have on Thursdays, that any number of Crossfield or area residents can attend."
In 2024, the Crossfield and Madden Food Bank distributed 337 full hampers, with 133 of those issued in the final quarter. Between January 1 and March 31 this year, the food bank had already provided 66 hampers. The weekly Thursday top-up market currently serves about 10 households, offering a lighter option for those not yet in crisis.
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Wigglesworth said that in some cases, this option makes all the difference.
"Quite a few people who are on the cusp of needing a food hamper can top up every week at the market and avoid having to have a hamper," she said. "The ripple effect here — it truly goes on and on."
The delivery required all hands. ArkTon Steel Inc. and MODUS Structures, two local companies with existing ties to the food bank, stepped in immediately to help with space and staff.
"We started in the morning at the food bank, gathered our incredible team of volunteers, and we had part of the team at the food bank for the day receiving the food at that end, and then we had the rest of the team at ArkTon Steel Inc., who is a local company that has donated the use of their sea can for us," Wigglesworth said.
"With their help, with their equipment, we offloaded a truck of 23,000 pounds of food that Kraft and Heinz have donated. We put some of it in the sea can, some of it at the food bank, and we are just topped up completely and thrilled by the outcome."
"The Town administration, the mayor came out to help support us during the day," she added. "And we had the help of both ArkTon and MODUS Structures — they brought their employees, and just the team effort was incredible."
Wigglesworth said the storage challenge was a "beautiful problem."
"I was prepared to make several phone calls and really was met with yeses all around," she said. "I phoned ArkTon Steel Inc. first, and it was an immediate yes — 'If this sea can works for you, please, it’s yours as long as you need it.' And MODUS Structures was a yes as well. We just have this community that wants to say yes whenever they can."
The Crossfield and Madden Food Bank is now a fully recognized member of Alberta Food Banks, having operated for over a year. She added the donation would also allow them to buy fresh fruits and vegetables to distribute throughout the year.
But the need, she said, is still rising.
"We’re seeing people phoning and saying, 'I’ve never had to get a hamper in my life. I don’t know how to do this," Longeway said. "People are saying, 'I don’t want to take from other people.' And our response is — if you need a hamper, that’s what we’re here for."
Wigglesworth said that for her and her sister, this work is deeply personal.
"This is definitely a labour of love for the two of us and for our family," she said. "We were raised on a farm outside of Crossfield, and we were raised in a community that really came together all the time to support each other. That was just part of our life and part of the life of this community."
"Crossfield has always had that thread of caring for one another, and we’re so grateful to have another opportunity, another way to do that."
Longeway added, "I do think we want to give a shout out to our parents that raised us."
Their neighbours at the Golden Key Club — Crossfield and Madden’s seniors — were also top of mind.
"They’ve been a tremendous example," Wigglesworth said. "When you see that kind of generosity and kindness modelled every day, it’s easy to emulate that. Just truly grateful to this incredible community."
"Absolutely," Longeway said.
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