On Nov. 27, volunteer fireman Evan Stewart and his buddies were out on an icy stretch of 22nd Avenue near the Tim Hortons collecting money for charity.

“Feel the boot,” he said, offering the large rubber boot he’d been using to collect donations, which was weighed down by change and crammed full of bills.

“Everyone’s been really generous. Some people have made hundred dollar donations.”

With an increasing number of citizens turning to the food bank, this year’s Charity Checkstop raised a record amount of $4,208.53.

The annual fund-raiser, put on by the fire department, police and EMS, represents the biggest source of funding for the Crowsnest Pass Food Bank Society.

“We’re very appreciative for the thousands of dollars being raised,” said Crowsnest food bank President Terry Grinevitch.

According to the HungerCount, a 2015 report compiled by Food Banks Canada that looked at more than 4,000 food programs across the country, 852,137 people, including 305,366 children, accessed a food bank in this country during March, a slight increase over March of last year.

This year, food banks in Alberta helped significantly more people than they did last year.

"The national increase was strongly influenced by the province of Alberta, where food bank use rose by a shocking 23 per cent in the past year," Food Banks Canada said in a release.

Food banks in Alberta assisted 67,443 people in March 2015 just as the dropping price of oil resulted in waves of layoffs in the energy sector.

Food bank use rose 21 per cent this year at the Crowsnest Pass food bank, said Grinevitch.

“It’s a tough time for a lot of people in Alberta,” he said. “Today we had an emergency hamper to someone who had been laid off from eight months ago. His family is getting pretty desperate.”