'June 27th Miracle' drive a huge success, say organizers

The massive food drive which swept across Windsor-Essex has been a huge success, say organizers, who have tallied up donations before they are shipped out to be distributed to those who need them most.

The "June 27th Miracle" food drive involved residents from all across Windsor and Essex County placing non-perishable food items on their doorsteps which were then picked up by teams of volunteers. There were also more than 40 drop-off locations.

Organizers say they attracted about 10,000 volunteers, some of whom blanketed the region's streets with miracle signs. in the days and weeks leading up to the event, in order to raise awareness.

On Tuesday, organizers said they received approximately 916,500 kg of food.

The Windsor Essex County Food Bank Association, which represents 15 food banks in the area, estimates the donations will feed about 28,850 households or 67,316 individuals for one year of food bank usage.

"Without that help we don't know what we'd do because some of our fundraisers aren't going to happen this year, so what's happened truly is a miracle," said June Muir, president and CEO of the Windsor Essex Food Bank Association and the Unemployed Help Centre, in a news release.

There have been more than 30,000 visits to Windsor-Essex food banks since the lockdown caused by COVID-19 began, according to the event's organizers.

WATCH | Volunteers come together in a county-wide food drive:

The event dubbed as a grass roots initiative was organized by a group of ten people in about a month, inspired by a similar event, Chatham-Kent's "May 16th Miracle."

"I knew Windsor-Essex was a generous community, but the level of support was completely overwhelming," said one of the organizers, Kerri Zold, in the news release.

"The willingness to unite for a common goal like this is what makes Windsor-Essex such a fantastic place to live and work."

More than 75 local food banks and organizations will benefit from the food drive.