The Coldest Night of the Year is set for Feb. 28, so there is plenty of time for people to put together teams to take part in the fund-raiser for the Dauphin Friendship Centre’s Food for Thought program.

According to Jarri Thompson, DFC events co-ordinator, there are currently more than 800 students registered for Food For Thought across the Dauphin school catchment, with approximately 750 students accessing meals consistently each week. Each participating student receives two meals per week, resulting in roughly 1,500 meals served weekly.

As a result, the average grocery cost is approximately $5,000 per week. Thanks to the dedicated volunteers making these meals from scratch that works out to about $3.33 per meal, per child.

As of Sunday afternoon, there are six teams registered, involving 16 walkers, which have raised $7,630 or 30 per cent of the walk’s goal of $25,000.

“We would like to see at least 10 teams of five. And then that way, they don’t have to raise as much,” Thompson said, adding the number of teams so far is about on par with what they usually have.

“Because of the rise in food costs, if we can get more teams registered sooner, that would be ideal,” she added.

To register, people can go to the DFC to see Thompson and she will walk them through the process, or they can log on to cnoy.org/location/dauphin.

Thompson said the walk is one of the bigger fund-raisers for the Food for Thought program, adding there is no deadline to register.

“You can actually register all the way up until the day that you walk and we actually collect donations all the way up until March. But again, the sooner you register, the better for us to know where we’re at and to prepare for the meal and the welcoming,” she said.

Participants will gather at the Dauphin Friendship Centre between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., where organizers will make sure all the forms are properly filled out, as well as collect money raised.

“We will do a little thank you, a presentation as to where the money will be going and how the community has helped,” Thompson explained.

The event will begin at 4 p.m., with two options for participants, either a two-kilometre or five-kilometre route.

“Once walkers are finished with their walk, they come back to the friendship centre and we have a meal,” Thompson said.

Thompson said anyone who wishes can make a donation to the Food for Thought program, adding it doesn’t have to be monetary.

“We take in-kind donations. We take food donations. And we always take new volunteers,” she said.