You may have heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, but have you heard of the One Bag Challenge?

Summer time is the worst for food banks because demand often exceeds donations, an issue that prompted Mayor of Kelowna Colin Basran to come up with a scheme.

Basran donated a bag of groceries to the Central Okanagan Food Bank – and elicited a challenge.

“I’m going to challenge five people to come down to the food bank, and they have 48 hours to drop off one bag of food, or visit the Central Okanagan Food Bank website and make a small donation,” he said in a video posted on his Facebook page.

“I would ask that they post a photo or video on Facebook challenging five of their friends to do the same thing.” 

A lofty goal, but few could have predicted what transpired.

In one week, more than 16,000 pounds of food have come into the Central Okanagan Food Bank, all related to the challenge. 

Many people took to social media to document their donations. 

Some people who have donated never knew where the food bank was before being nominated to take part.

Even Premier Christy Clark participated in the challenge, pushing it across provincial borders by nominating Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall to donate. 

And it’s not just restricted to the Okanagan – anyone can take part. Simply take a bag of groceries to your local food bank and let the games begin.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Kent Molgat

Watch Basran's original One Bag Challenge video here: