Posted on
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Saturday, November 03, 2007
John Tyler Wins 'Pantry Raid' Competition
By LAUREN GROVER
Staff Writer
It was a 12,564-pound upset.
But John Tyler High School's "Pantry Raid" food drive victory against rival Robert E. Lee High School was only a small triumph compared to the thousands of East Texans who won't go hungry this winter, said Robert Bush, executive director of the East Texas Food Bank.
After being second place for four years, the Lions found reason to roar on Friday night when the numbers were announced before the football game at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.
Together, John Tyler and Lee collected 59,796 pounds of food.
"Looking at all those cans, ain't nobody going to starve this year," John Tyler senior Kelcie Granberry said with a smile. "The harder we competed the more pounds of food we could give."
For months, both schools lived and breathed canned foods - sweeping through relative's pantries, talking to businesses, holding pep rallies at elementary schools and even trick-or-treating for canned food.
The 46,715 meals made from their donation will fill the mouths of thousands of hungry East Texans this winter, Bush said.
And it couldn't come at a better time, he said.
Staff Writer
It was a 12,564-pound upset.
But John Tyler High School's "Pantry Raid" food drive victory against rival Robert E. Lee High School was only a small triumph compared to the thousands of East Texans who won't go hungry this winter, said Robert Bush, executive director of the East Texas Food Bank.
After being second place for four years, the Lions found reason to roar on Friday night when the numbers were announced before the football game at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.
Together, John Tyler and Lee collected 59,796 pounds of food.
"Looking at all those cans, ain't nobody going to starve this year," John Tyler senior Kelcie Granberry said with a smile. "The harder we competed the more pounds of food we could give."
For months, both schools lived and breathed canned foods - sweeping through relative's pantries, talking to businesses, holding pep rallies at elementary schools and even trick-or-treating for canned food.
The 46,715 meals made from their donation will fill the mouths of thousands of hungry East Texans this winter, Bush said.
And it couldn't come at a better time, he said.
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"It's one of the earliest and largest drives we have," he said. "And it's one of our favorite things to see: youth competing to do good."
John Tyler also received a check of 1,428 extra pounds of food after winning a tylerpaper.com poll. Each school submitted a photo to the Web site as part of its "Capture the Spirit" promotion. During the week, students, fans and faculty of both schools cast online votes, rating the two photos on a scale of 1 to 10. The John Tyler photo ended up rated higher at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon.
The "Pantry Raid" between John Tyler and Lee began in 1991, and more than 700,000 pounds of food has been collected for the Food Bank during those years, he said.
The Food Bank distributes some 1.2 million pounds of food a month through agencies such as PATH or the Salvation Army, Bush said.
Food drive chairman and John Tyler senior Angela Frost said extra focus on exciting elementary students about the drive gave them a leg up.
"We pulled in 9,000 cans from Dixie Elementary alone," she said.
Miss Frost, who plans to attend University of Texas at Austin in the fall, said making an impact can be infectious.
"If a little freshman sees me doing good, then maybe they'll do good too, you know?" she said.
Students and teachers from both schools dedicated hours of work, one can at a time.
"What did we do?" Granberry asked. "What didn't we do? We've pretty much been living the last few weeks for this day."
Incentives in the classrooms of both schools included extra credit, off-campus lunch passes, iPods and detention and tardy waivers.
"Five cans got a tardy removed - that was a popular one," Miss Frost said.
Seeing youth have such a big impact inspires the community, Bush said.
"It's exciting," he said. "To watch young people realize they can solve the issue of hunger."
John Tyler also received a check of 1,428 extra pounds of food after winning a tylerpaper.com poll. Each school submitted a photo to the Web site as part of its "Capture the Spirit" promotion. During the week, students, fans and faculty of both schools cast online votes, rating the two photos on a scale of 1 to 10. The John Tyler photo ended up rated higher at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon.
The "Pantry Raid" between John Tyler and Lee began in 1991, and more than 700,000 pounds of food has been collected for the Food Bank during those years, he said.
The Food Bank distributes some 1.2 million pounds of food a month through agencies such as PATH or the Salvation Army, Bush said.
Food drive chairman and John Tyler senior Angela Frost said extra focus on exciting elementary students about the drive gave them a leg up.
"We pulled in 9,000 cans from Dixie Elementary alone," she said.
Miss Frost, who plans to attend University of Texas at Austin in the fall, said making an impact can be infectious.
"If a little freshman sees me doing good, then maybe they'll do good too, you know?" she said.
Students and teachers from both schools dedicated hours of work, one can at a time.
"What did we do?" Granberry asked. "What didn't we do? We've pretty much been living the last few weeks for this day."
Incentives in the classrooms of both schools included extra credit, off-campus lunch passes, iPods and detention and tardy waivers.
"Five cans got a tardy removed - that was a popular one," Miss Frost said.
Seeing youth have such a big impact inspires the community, Bush said.
"It's exciting," he said. "To watch young people realize they can solve the issue of hunger."
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