This fall, high school students from 17 high schools participated.
In three divisions based on enrollment, the first prize winners for collecting the most food and funds are:
- Pleasant Valley High School
- Alleman High School
- Morning Star Academy
Davenport West High School won the Most Improved Award for increasing its donations by 131% from last year. Pleasant Valley also won the Mission Challenge Award for its essay and display about the mission of the River Bend Food Bank.
Community sponsorships added 400,000 meals to the Student Hunger Drive, for a total of 1.2 million for 2023.
Since 1984, the drive has provided nearly 18 million meals to people in 23 counties.
“This is truly an amazing accomplishment and comes at a most critical time”, said Nancy Renkes, River Bend Food Bank’s President and CEO. “With the dramatic increase in food cost, combined with increased need and decreased food donations, these kids absolutely outdid themselves to ensure their neighbors do not go hungry."
Returning sponsors for the 2023 Student Hunger Drive include the Bechtel Trusts, Hy-Vee, CBI Bank, Smart Auto, and the John Deere Foundation.
