SaskatchewanAfter a trailer fire in Prince Albert destroyed 1,500 food hampers ahead of Thanksgiving, volunteers and donors rallied to rebuild what was lost. The Prince Albert Grand Council says more than 3,600 families are signed up to receive hampers. More than 3,600 families registered for hampers with Prince Albert Grand CouncilAishah Ashraf · CBC News · Posted: Oct 09, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoVolunteers in Prince Albert gather in an effort to rebuild Thanksgiving food hampers lost in a trailer fire. (Aishah Ashraf/CBC)A trailer fire threatened to derail the Prince Albert Grand Council’s Thanksgiving food hamper program — until dozens of community members stepped up to rebuild what was lost.The 53-foot trailer, loaded with food destined for families in need, was parked behind a warehouse in Prince Albert on Oct. 3 when the fire happened.“We had just left,” said Elizabeth Marlowe, an agrologist with the Prince Albert Grand Council who is one of the organizers of the food hamper program. “An hour later, we got a call that the semi was on fire.”While fire crews managed to contain the flames to the back of the trailer, much of the food was either burned or damaged by water and smoke.“We lost about 1,500 hampers,” Marlowe said. “Some might have been salvageable, but they all had a little bit of damage.” Marlowe said cancelling the program was never an option. That same night, she and her team began calling volunteers to help start over.Prince Albert Grand Council’s Thanksgiving hampers include dry goods such as pasta, stuffing mixes, soups, cake mix, cereal and chips. (Aishah Ashraf/CBC)“We did collectively decide that we wanted to continue with the project, so we got everybody together and started getting more groceries and building hampers again,” she said.That night, a team of volunteers was back in the warehouse unpacking, sorting and rebuilding boxes. Efforts draw dozensOne of the first to arrive was Diane Altenberg, who works with Marlowe.“A collection of us just kind of raced down here and were just getting over the initial shock of losing the hampers,” Altenberg said.They returned the next day to keep going. Volunteers from the YWCA, the non-profit organization S.H.A.R.E., Caribou Transport and Prince Albert Grand Council staff and youth banded together to make up for lost time. Ian Painchaud was one of several YWCA volunteers who joined the rebuild.“When the trailer went up in flames, [it was] just a serious sense of loss,” he said. Painchaud spent the weekend wrapping pallets, packing vegetables and loading boxes for delivery.“The turnout, it’s really heartwarming,” he said. “It wasn’t just heartache.”Elizabeth Marlowe is one of the organizers of the Prince Albert Grand Council’s Thanksgiving hamper program. (Aishah Ashraf/CBC)As volunteers filled hampers, help poured in from local businesses and other donors, including the Leamington Food Hub in Ontario, which sent two semi-loads of food.“That just means everyone cares,” Marlowe said. “Like everybody has a heart, you know?”Demand higher than everThe hamper program, run by the grand council each year, supports low-income families during the holiday season. With inflation pushing food costs higher, organizers say the need for the program has grown.A May 2025 report from Statistics Canada found that 25.5 per cent of people in Canada’s provinces — approximately 10 million — are now experiencing food insecurity, with both moderate and severe levels on the rise.More than 3,600 families registered for the hampers this year. Lines started forming at the distribution centre as early as 8 a.m. Wednesday and distribution continues Thursday.“Sometimes bad things happen,” Marlowe said, “but you can pull yourself together and make good things happen.”ABOUT THE AUTHORAishah Ashraf is a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan, based in Prince Albert. You can send story ideas and tips to aishah.ashraf@cbc.ca.
Volunteers rally to rebuild 1,500 Thanksgiving hampers following Prince Albert fire
