Bernie the St. Bernard — the big dog mascot for the Colorado Avalanche NHL team — stood amongst cheerful children and parents, signing autographs and taking photos.

But the photo opportunity wasn’t just for those present — it was for those falling upon hard times with the holiday season rapidly approaching.

The Colorado Avalanche, Kroenke Sports Charities, Food Bank of the Rockies and King Soopers teamed up for a holiday food drive at King Soopers at 13525 Quebec Street in Thornton on Saturday. The event was the first of two food drives from the team-up within the next week.

Donators brought non-perishable food items and money, all going toward Feeding Colorado’s annual mission to distribute nearly 133 million pounds of food to Coloradans who are facing hunger and food insecurity.

“There’s more of a need than ever for food. Things are very expensive and inflation continues to go up,” Emily Jurenka, Senior Community Relations Coordinator at Kroenke Sports Charities, said. “We’re trying to bridge the gap with Feeding Colorado to fill up their food banks and provide monetary contributions so they can continue their mission throughout the state.”

While Kroenke Sports Charities usually runs a food drive at Ball Arena during the holiday season, this is their first year working with Feeding Colorado and King Soopers.

“We really wanted to make this more of a statewide effort and spread the love across Colorado instead of staying directly in Denver,” Jurenka said.

Regarding food insecurity and the potential embarrassment of having to reach out to a food drive during the holidays, Jurenka said there’s no need to be ashamed.

“Everyone, at some point in their lives, needs a little helping hand,” she said. “The people that work for the food banks are compassionate and kind and definitely aren’t judgmental. They just want to help.”

While Bernie won’t be at the next food drive — at King Soopers at 14967 Candelas Parkway in Arvada next Saturday between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. —  representatives from the Denver Nuggets will be there.

Just in case you want to meet mascots and donate to a cause.