In the end, it wasn’t even a close contest: Delaware County employees and Delaware City Schools students united for the 5th annual Fight Against Hunger Games and provided 225 Thanksgiving meal kits to their neighbors in need. They also restocked the Pacer Pantry, a local food bank, with the extra donations collected over the last month. Hunger didn’t stand a chance.
All told, the employees and students collected 225 boxes of mashed potatoes, 504 boxes of stuffing, 1,900 cans of green beans, 1,570 cans of corn, 515 jars of gravy, 304 jars of cranberry sauce, 225 aluminum roasting pans, and 964 boxes of macaroni and cheese, and they collected enough money to purchase 233 turkeys, 225 bags of rolls and 225 pumpkin pies.
Delaware County Probate/Juvenile Court Judge David Hejmanowski, whose office has been one of the primary organizers for the event, said he sees a wide variety of benefits from this annual project.
“Not only is this a wonderful program for the benefit of our community,” Hejmanowski said, “but it’s also a great opportunity for students and court staff to work together on a positive activity, and for students to see the direct benefit of their good works. It’s a joy to watch the reaction of students when they see the direct result of the good work they’re doing — that they can, and do, have an impact on the world around them.”
The 225 pre-assembled meal kits were given away today in the front driveway of Delaware’s Rutherford B. Hayes High School. Local officials, county staff members and Hayes students set up a brigade to deliver the kits to residents who drove up and requested kits. There was no advance registration needed to receive a meal kit, nor was any proof of need required.
