A truck carrying food destined for Saskatoon students went up in flames Tuesday.
The truck, owned by CHEP Good Food Inc., was in the middle of delivering 5,000 pounds of fresh fruit, vegetables and other food to more than 20 Saskatoon schools when it caught fire. It was travelling north on Idylwyld Drive, near Ruth Street, when the driver noticed the flames in his rear-view mirror. He quickly pulled over, and he and his assistant got out safely.
Yvonne Hanson, the executive director of CHEP, was driving behind the truck at the time. She said it’s a devastating loss.
“We have a lot of kids in Saskatoon who are going to be hungry this week without lunches,” said Hanson.
CHEP is a non-profit organization that has been promoting food security in Saskatoon for nearly 30 years. Hanson said the truck and all the food inside was a total loss. She said this was the organization’s only refrigerated truck.
“Obviously, with that quantity of food, this is the truck that we need to use. So, I'm feeling kind of choked up here actually. Insurance will kick in, I think, but I don’t know what that’s going to look like at this point," said Hanson.
Hanson said the organization will work with its partner schools to create a plan going forward.
No one was injured, and there’s no word on what caused the fire.
