There may not be plates of spaghetti or soft drinks whizzing by your head, but like it or not, you’re in the middle of a food fight.

But instead of leaving a heaping mess on the dining room floor, this one collects food for the needy.

Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin challenged Regina Mayor, Pat Fiacco to the Great Canadian Food Fight this week, which starts at 6 a.m. Friday (Oct. 16) and ends at 6 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 17).

If Regina collects more food than Victoria, Fortin joked he would shovel the snow off Fiacco’s walk.

If not, Fiacco is on the hook to cut Fortin’s grass.

More seriously, Fortin said, “it just underscores the importance that as winter starts to come that we recognize that now, more than ever, people are desperate out there.”

That’s true for the Mustard Seed food bank which benefits from the event. The food bank now serves about 7,200 people per month, up from about 5,000 at this time last year.

Despite this increase, donations and staffing levels have remained constant. “At the rate we’re going, if we don’t raise a ton of food, we’re in serious trouble,” said Brent Palmer, food bank director.

Actually, his goal is 180 tons of food, or more than 158,000 kilograms.

And Victoria is up against tough competition for the 36-hour fight. Regina beat Winnipeg for the last two years.

Palmer hopes Victoria will win in the fight of the two queen cities. But the real winners, he said, are the people who use the food banks.

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Food for thought

Drop off your cash or food donations at any municipal fire hall, Dodd’s Furniture, Ogden Point warehouse of Fairfield New Horizons, 380 Cook St. between 6 a.m. Friday (Oct. 16) until 6 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 17).