Submitted Photo Richard Demers stands next to his 1932 Dodge DK-8 Sedan, holding a donation box as part of the promotion of his Feed the Hungry Tour.

A Canadian classic car enthusiast making about a 4,000-mile round trip to a major antique automobile event wants to leave a trail of good along the way.

Richard Demers of Alberta Beach, Alberta, is holding food drives in 13 cities in six states and two Canadian provinces, including a stop at Minot’s Scandinavian Heritage Park on Tuesday, Sept. 2, as he travels to the 2025 Revival AAA Glidden Tour in Owensboro, Kentucky, in his vintage 1932 Dodge.

“Rather than just drive straight through to Owensboro, participate and leave, I thought I might as well do some good on the way,” he said. “To me, it’s a way of giving back and doing some good.”

His Feed the Hungry Tour kicks off Aug. 31 in Edmonton, Alberta, and stops in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on Sept. 1 before arriving in Minot. It moves on to Fargo Wednesday, Sept. 3, returning through Dickinson on Sept. 17. The tour ends in Calgary, Alberta, on Sept. 20.

“In 1932, when my car was built – a 1932 Dodge DK-8 Sedan – it was the Great Depression, and in Edmonton here, over 10,000 people had a hunger march in December of 1932,” Demers said. “Then I looked at some of the statistics. And you know, we at the Edmonton Food Bank feed 40,000 people a month. So, then I started researching a little bit and realized that over a billion people are food insecure. Fifty million Americans are food insecure.”

In planning his trip, Demers connected with local food banks, museums and car clubs. He has worked with the Lord’s Cupboard Food Pantry and Dakota Cruisers as well as the Scandinavian Heritage Center, to set up his community-focused event in Minot for Tuesday from 1-4 p.m.

“We can promote the local museum, promote the food drive and the local food bank and make awareness and donations an important part of my journey to and from Owensboro, and even in Owensboro,” Demers said. “In Owensboro, I’m going to shoot a video a day. I’m shooting 20 videos on the way there and back to promote the need for people to take care of their neighbor.”

The Glidden Tour is scheduled for Sept. 7-12. Demers said about 177 pre-1943 cars will be driving about 500 miles over the course of the week to various locations as part of the tour. Originally an annual race started shortly after the turn of the century to promote automobiles and safer roads and bridges, it lasted only about 10 years but was revived in 1946.

Demers will be traveling to Kentucky with friends driving a 1940 Hudson pickup.

He has set up a website on which people can track his Feed the Hungry Tour, and he also will be posting on social media.

“We’ve been working all summer to draw attention to the need for food security and we’re just pushing that on the way there and on the way back to make September a meaningful month,” Demers said.

“I just feel that we need to draw attention to this issue because it’s appalling to me that there’s 40,000 people a month in Edmonton alone that need food. It’s appalling to me that there’s 50 million people in the states that need food,” he said. “It amazes me that we’re in such a pickle barrel, and it’s not getting less. It’s getting more.

“If we have the will to build roads and bridges, we should have the will to solve solvable problems, and I think hunger is a solvable problem,” he added. “We also have to help our neighbors and take care of the people around us. I don’t think we’re doing enough of that. I’m bringing awareness to that, and I’m bringing attention to the fact that we need to do more.”