Jackson Philips, 8, of Inwood  one of the members of Mrs. Hyatt’s class at Brooke-Alvinston Public School, rode away with a new bike after helping collect cans for the Alvinston Food Bank. His class collected the most cans per student and Philips name was chosen for the grand prize – a bike donated by Little Caesars.

The Brooke-Alvinston Bronco’s rode in at just the right time.

The students of the elementary school near Alvinston collected just under 700 cans of food – about eight large boxes – for the new Alvinston Food Bank in a week-long food drive.

And Pat Copeland says it couldn’t have come at a better time. “We were getting low on food,” she said looking at the boxes stacked in the hallway of the school. “This comes at a really good time.”

Since the food bank opened in February, the use has climbed. Now, about 25 families depend on the food provided.

“It’s growing,” says Copeland. “We keep adding people every month.”

She expects the growth to continue as people learn about the local food bank. “A lot of people don’t know about us yet,” she says.

The food drive at the school will also help raise the Alvinston Food Bank’s profile. Copeland says students will talk to their parents about the drive and those that are “making due and suffering in silence” will find there is help close to home.