Jake “The Weather Kid” McKnight has teamed up with the Fry Factory food truck to gather donations for the Grande Prairie Food Bank. Corina McCollum, owner of the Fry Factory, says she jumped on board to help the 10-year-old after he reached out asking for some support.
“I met Jake through Facebook when they were first putting their blog on. They were trying to get that up so he could start doing his blogs [and] I was one of the first to meet up with him so when he reached out laterwards and asked if I wanted to team up. I said, ‘for the food bank, always.'”
McKnight is a local kid who gained notoriety on Facebook and Instagram for posting daily weather reports.
McCollum adds most of the drive has been overseen by McKnight, and her food truck is just there to help draw passerby attention to the drive.
Jake says he kicked off the drive as an active effort to give back to the community and lend a helping hand.
“I just want to help out people. It’s fun and I feel like a real celebrity. It feels pretty amazing,” he says.
Anyone who is able to spare a donation to the drive will be entered to win a draw for prizes donated by sponsoring local businesses. Non-perishable food donations are being accepted on-site at Muskoseepi Park. McCollum says the team was initially off to a slow start Tuesday, but as the sun came out and people started passing by, donations picked up quickly.
“I think the more people are hearing about it, the more it’s going for sure. This is a first for [Jake] and I but I don’t think it’s our last,” she says.
The team will be returning to Muskoseepi Park July 22nd from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. McCollum adds there are tentative plans to run a second drive in the near future, though nothing has yet been set in stone.