Christmas comes early for Montague food bank

A one-man food drive means the Montague food bank now has more than enough food to last until Christmas, for the second year in a row.

Last year Robert Benoit collected 1,136 kilograms of non-perishable food items in his mini-van and $700 in donations from Montague businesses.

This year he collected even more — 1,818 kilograms of food and $1,200 in donations.

"We were kind of overwhelmed by the amount he got, it will keep us going at least until Christmas. Robert did a really good job, he's quite the guy," said Lawrence Power, a volunteer at the Southern Kings and Queens Food Bank.

"He went around the week before and passed out flyers to all the businesses, and then went around the following Friday and Saturday, and collected all the food," Power said. "He did it all by himself, so it was quite a job."

Benoit said he once had to rely on the food bank himself, so he promised himself if he was ever in a position to help the food bank in the future, he would.

Robert Benoit plans to make the food drive an annual event.