Senators fans can donate instead of waste burgers, says food bank

It's been raining hamburgers in Ottawa in honour of Andrew 'The Hamburglar' Hammond but a local food bank is concerned the excitement over the Senators' goalie is also leading to wasted food.

The Parkdale Food Centre is encouraging fans to donate to the food bank instead of throwing hamburgers on the ice.

"I mean, have fun, but there has to be a better way," said food centre manager Karen Secord. "We love the Sens. We're happy with what's going on. We're just as excited as everybody else ... But at the end of the day, wasting food — let's all think about that."

The Parkdale Food Centre serves more than 800 people per month but Secord emphasized it’s only one of 29 community food banks in Ottawa

"We struggle to be able to provide people with good quality protein sources and fresh fruits and vegetables," she said.

"Perhaps we could have a plastic shape of a hamburger and people could buy that for $4 and throw that on the ice."

The Ottawa Food Bank as a whole helps feed an average of 50,000 people per month — 37 per cent of those clients are children.