Yellowknife’s Burger Week moved a lot of beef. There were 3,427 hamburgers sold for a total of $7,847 going to the Food First Foundation from the Jan. 27 to Feb. 6 event.
photo courtesy of Sonia Idir
Copperhouse Eatery and Lounge sold the most burgers – 757 – among the eight participating restaurants. Its feature was the Staycation, which featured a 6 oz. beef patty, with guacamole, prosciutto, smoked Gouda, cherry ketchup, lettuce and homemade pickle on an Ace bakery bun.
Burger eaters were issued passports, which they submitted in a prize draw held Tuesday.
Organizer Sonia Idir said she was very pleased with this year's results.
“I wasn't expecting those numbers,” she said. “I was hoping to raise more money than last year, of course, but definitely not that much money. It's exciting to see how much more popular it was this year. I'm hoping Burger Week becomes one of those Yellowknife events people are looking forward to every year.”
By comparison, last year’s inaugural burger festival raised $3,427 for the Yellowknife Food Bank after 1,734 burgers were sold at 10 participating restaurants over a week.
Katie Johnson, chair of the Food First Foundation, said she was pleasantly surprised as she had only expected the amount to be over $3,000.
Food First is a registered charity that provides food and nutrition education programs to schools all across the Northwest Territories.
“When the result ended up being almost $8,000 I was very amazed,” Johnson said. “It will help with supporting school food programs in the NWT. Depending on the community and needs for kids at the schools, it could help support breakfasts to light snacks or lunch and/or snacks.”
Johnson said it made a difference to have the community and outside supporters raising the money because usually efforts are made by the organization's volunteers.