(Hunger) Driving to the finish
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By Sheena Dooley | Thursday, November 09, 2006 |
Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES Students from Moline High School unload food at the River Bend Food Bank during the first of two drop-off days that conclude the annual Student Hunger Drive in the Quad-City region.
Music blared over the “beeps” of forklifts backing up with pallets loaded with food. About 20 Moline High School students, some sporting purple shirts with “Juniority ’08” splashed across the front, formed assembly lines. They passed boxes of food off the back of a small semi and onto the pallets.
Two docks down at the River Bend Foodbank, four Davenport West High School sophomores unpacked similar boxes from a 51-foot trailer. It was the second load of the day to come out of their trailers, both of which arrived at the food bank full. With more food at the school yet to deliver, West appeared well on the way to its goal of regaining the title from Moline as the No. 1 food collector in the 21st annual Student Hunger Drive.
“Every year before last year we have gotten first place,” said Stevie Liljequist, a sophomore at West. “Last year was a setback, so we are hoping to bring it back this year.”
The students will have to wait until tonight’s awards party to find out whether they have succeeded in that goal. It will bring to an end two days of unloading food at River Bend that will be weighed to determine how many pounds of food students from 23 Iowa and Illinois schools in Scott, Clinton, Muscatine, Rock Island and Henry counties collected over the past month.
River Bend depends on the student-led drive to provide 25 percent of its annual food intake. That equates to about a million pounds of food worth $2 million.
“They take it on as a mission,” said Diane Erickson, executive director of the drive. “It’s not just a project anymore.”
Students from throughout the Quad-City region held powderpuff football games, dodgeball tournaments, talent shows and volleyball games, among other things, to raise money to buy food for the drive. In Moline, students said they had to step up their efforts this year because fewer of their counterparts participated.
“We are the defending champs,” said Sarah Clark, a junior at Moline. “It will be close. We had to personally step up and take the lead. We are really coming together and working as a team.”
Sheena Dooley can be contacted at (563)383-2363 or sdooley@qctimes.com.
Schools participating
Bettendorf, Davenport Central, Clinton, Moline, Muscatine, Rock Island, United Township, Davenport West, Alleman, Assumption, Christ Lutheran, Geneseo, Lincoln, Lydia Urban Academy, Davenport North, North Scott, Orion, Pleasant Valley, Quad-Cities Christian, Rivermont Collegiate, Rockridge, Thurgood Marshall and the Wittenmyer Learning Center.
The final touch
What: An awards party signaling the end of the 21st annual Student Hunger Drive
When: 5:30-7:30 p.m. today
Where: River Bend Foodbank, downtown Moline
Raw Video: Hunger Drive
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