$10K for you and you and you: Alberta man drops off cheques in each Canadian capital to help the hungry

Alberta's Geoff Gyles is driving up the AlaskaHighway this weekend, en route to Whitehorse.

His mission? To drop off a$10,000 cheque forthe local food bank.

It'sGyles's unique way of celebrating Canada 150. He's already delivered cheques tofive provincial capitals,and plans to keepgoing until he's reached all13 provincial and territorial capitals in the country.

"I thought it was a good moment in time to take a look at one problem that faces all of Canada, which is the hunger problem," said Gylesfrom Canmore, Alta., who started Journey to End Hungerto raise awareness ofchild hunger in Canada.

He's not only putting in the money, but he's putting in the time.- Oai Truong

An estimated 1.1 million children face food insecurity in communities across Canada each year, according to Food Banks Canada.

"It couldn't have come at a better time," said TristanNewsome at the Whitehorse Food Bank, which is gearing up for a busy summer.

"We couldn't be any more grateful for the donation."

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Helping the hungry

After working in agriculture for more than 40 years, Gyles said he wanted to "refocus."

"As a kid, watching TV, you'd see these programs where there's people starving in many different countries around the world," recalled Gyles. "The reason I went into agriculture originally was to help."

Gyles said he got distracted over the years, with family (he's a father of four)and running his business. His interest in world hunger took a back seat.

"I lost sight of those things for a moment."

Gyles hopes that this project will encourage more Canadians to donate to food banks and food-related charities, oreven to contact their local MP or member of the legislature about solving the hunger problem in Canada.

OaiTruong, owner of Bounce Design Inc., which createdGyles'swebsite, has worked with him for over eight years and describes him as someone who "never really wanted a spotlight."

She said his dedication to the project, and the cause, is genuine.

"He's not only putting in the money, but he's putting in the time," Truong said.

"I have a lot of clients in the non-profit industry, and often you get millionaires signing a cheque and handing them to organizations.

"But for him to take the time to visit these organizations to meet the people on the ground, I think that's pretty admirable."

Cross-country tour

The project isalso allowing Gylesto fulfilhis lifelong desire to drive across Canada. His trek started in St. John's at the beginning of June and then swung to the West.

After Whitehorse, he'lldriveto Yellowknife. Then he'll head to Ottawa for Canada Day, and on to Quebec andthe East Coast.

Gyles will end the cross-country tour in Nunavut the place with the highest food insecurity rate for any Indigenous population in a developed country.

A quarter of Inuit preschoolers are severely food insecure, and of those children, 76 per cent skip meals and 60 per cent have gone a whole day without eating, according to a 2014 report by the Canadian Council of Academies.

In total, Gyles will donate $150,000 to all 13 capitals as well as Ottawaand the national Breakfast for Learning program.

At the end of his tour, Gyles plans to auctionoff his vehicle and donate the proceeds to charity.

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