It’s nothing short of a Calgary food collection dynasty.

Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal took home his fourth consecutive Golden Lettuce Award, which is given to the Calgary city councillor who collects the most food for the Calgary Food Bank from the start of the month-long councillor’s challenge on Dec. 8, 2025.

Dhaliwal has won the competition since its creation by former Mayor Jyoti Gondek in 2022/2023 as a part of the annual Mayor’s Food Bank Challenge done around the holiday season. That competition has gone on for 37 years.

Before awarding the Golden Lettuce, Calgary Food Bank President and CEO Melissa From paid tribute to Ward 6 Coun. John Pantazopoulos for the 880 lbs of potatoes that he and his ward office were able to collect.  Each day, the Calgary Food Bank goes through 12,000 pounds of potatoes.

“It was so wonderful to share in this decades-long tradition with our friends, old and new, representing Calgarians in this meaningful opportunity to demonstrate how strong our sense of community is in the City of Calgary,” From told councillors during the Feb. 17 Public Hearing Meeting of Council.

“Since becoming the president and CEO at the Calgary Food Bank three years ago, I can say that this competition has certainly become one of the highlights for me.”

In total, $79,458 in food and funds were raised during the councillors’ challenge, along with $532,186 in combined food and funds in the Mayor’s Christmas food drive.

“This means that almost 5,000 more Calgarians will have access to emergency food hampers because of your work,” From said.

Victory for those in need: Coun. Dhaliwal

Coun. Dhaliwal once again outpaced the competition with a total of $15,179 in food and funds – roughly 20 per cent of the city council total.

Dhaliwal thanked Mayor Jeromy Farkas for continuing with the tradition of having the councillors participate in the annual challenge.

“I think the real victory belongs to all the residents who are in need of food during the times when we are all celebrating holiday season,” Dhaliwal said.  

“Thank you to all the councillors for being part of it, and thank you to all those Calgarians who donated generously, and thank you to the great people of Ward 5 for making us winners again.”

Mayor Farkas said that during the potato-bagging challenge, he got a glimpse of the competitive streak that members of council had.

“As I saw councillor Dhaliwal and his hands gripped around the trophy, I knew that this was going to be a different kind of challenge this year, and I know that everyone brought their A game,” he said.

Mayor Farkas also thanked Calgarians for their generosity.

“Whether it’s a little or a lot, every donation helps make a difference, and every act of kindness builds the kind of community that we are proud to call home,” Mayor Farkas said.