A local escape artist is using his unusual abilities to fill the shelves at the Daily Bread Food Bank.

Scott Hammell locked himself inside a plexi-glass box outside Union Station Wednesday morning. The illusionist plans to stay inside for five and a half days.

He’ll finally come out of the box just as trick-or-treaters hit the streets Sunday evening.

The goal of the stunt is to get local residents and commuters to cover the box in non-perishable food donations.

The Daily Bread Food Bank recently released the results of its Fall Food Drive and the charity didn’t meet its goals. Its Holiday Food Drive starts at the end of November.

A report released last month stated the city experienced its biggest spike in hunger in 15 years. Daily Bread reported a 15 per cent increase in visits in 2010 alone – that’s up 123,000 from 2009.

According to that report, entitled “Who’s Hungry?”, 34 per cent of food bank clients are children.