Labrador West girl reverses Advent calendar by collecting food donations

For years, 10-year-old Leah Benoit of Wabush has been collecting food items for food banks as a sort of reserve Advent calendar through December.

She begins collecting in November to make a bigger donation to help others in her community, and so that her donations make it to who need them in time for the holidays.

Leah says she gets a big reaction from food bank volunteers when she drops off her haul.

"They're happy, thankful and excited," she told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

She said the experience makes her happy, too, adding she likes to donate her favourite foods, like chocolate granola bars, spaghetti and chewy candies.

A life lesson

Leah's mother, Kelly Cadwell, says the tradition started when her daughter was very young. Before taking a chocolate from her Advent calendar, Leah would put a food item into a box of donations.

Cadwell said it was about teaching her daughter that Christmas is also about giving.

"Every morning she'll get up and put, like, a non-perishable food item in a box. And then when the food bank finishes their donations before Christmas, we usually head over and drop it off then," said Cadwell.

"We're just making sure she knows that you don't always get, you do have to give. And she quickly caught on to that."

Cadwell said people should find out the dates for when their local food bank is accepting donations.

Food banks typically wrap up collections in mid-December in order to get donations to people in time for the holidays, she said.

"We find starting in the middle of November, going to the middle of December … you get your full month of Advent," said Cadwell.

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