Hays County Food Bank Challenges All To Stock Their Pantry Shelves And Cooler

In 2017, the Hays CISD Wallace Middle School Rangers collected 1,999 pounds of food and won the competition; this year, they are already hard at work to defend their title.

Hays County Food Bank invites all civic clubs, organizations, schools, church congregations, friend groups, families, etc. to participate in their 3rd Annual Spring Harvest Healthy Food Drive Challenge.

The event officially kicked off on Easter Sunday and will conclude on May 18.

Teams are encouraged to sign up online for the challenge at www.haysfoodbank.org under ‘Donate’ so that the food bank team will know about how much food to expect and when the events are.

Bragging rights and the official food drive traveling trophy is up for grabs. Teams can sign up right until the very end of the challenge, but their event must end by May 18th.

There were teams who participated in 2016 and 2017 who only hosted events for one day, and they still collected a “plethora” of food to give.

Last year’s challenge winners, the Wallace Middle School Rangers from Hays Consolidated Independent School District, are already busy with their food collection and hope to defend their title this year.

In 2017, they collected 1,999 pounds of food. Their tactic was to dedicate a different type of food to collect each week. Their Youth Service Club is involved in giving back and have grown a garden for the food bank and led the charge with this annual food drive.

Another team in north Hays County decided to join forces and host a one-day event outside of the Kyle Walmart.

The Kyle Fire Department, Kyle Lion’s Club and Living Word Lutheran Church hosted a Fill up the Fire Truck event on a Saturday in May 2017 and nearly won the whole challenge by collecting 1,968 pounds of food.

Children were allowed to hang out and learn about the fire truck while also giving back. Families even went to Walmart when they saw what was happening to purchase food explicitly for donation.

Community donations are critical to the survival of the food bank, and both food and money are needed to help Hays County Food Bank continue to serve those who need it most.

In 2017, an average of approximately seven and a half tons of food was distributed each week, which is slightly less than what the TOTAL community donations for March 2018 were (community donations do not include food given through partnership with Central Texas Food Bank).

Food drives are much less common in the spring and summer months with more giving happening during the holiday season. The Spring Harvest Healthy Food Drive Challenge is a way to get the community engaged while restocking the food bank’s shelves and cooler with healthy foods. Everyone is invited to participate.

Make sure to let the food bank’s front desk person know that the donation is marked for the Spring Harvest Healthy Food Drive Challenge. All teams will have their own donation log and teams can bring in food as many times as they want throughout the competition. If any potential team or individuals has any other questions, contact Eleanor Owen-Oshan at eowen-oshan@haysfoodbank.org or call her at (512) 392-8300 x230.

In 2017, Hays County Food Bank and its 20+ partner agencies distributed 791,838 pounds of food to an average of 2,022 food insecure individuals each week. These residents were senior citizens, children, and many others facing economic challenges.

“Food insecurity” refers to the availability of food and one’s access to it. Hays County Food Bank is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit haysfoodbank.org or visit us on Facebook or Twitter at @HaysFoodBank.