Oswego School District 308 set for 8th annual food drive

The eighth annual Crosstown Challenge food drive is going strong, with Oswego School District 308 families and staff helping to keep the shelves of the Kendall County Community Food Pantry well stocked.

This year’s competition started Oct. 4 and ends Oct. 13, serving “as a unified promotion between the elementary schools, junior highs, and high schools,” a press release issued by the district read. The winners of the food drive will be determined by the total number of items collected at each school.

There will be winners declared at the elementary level, junior-high level, and high-school level, announced during halftime of the Crosstown Challenge varsity football game Oct. 15 at Pickerill Stadium, taking home a coveted title and trophy.

The reigning schools in the annual contest are Churchill Elementary School, Plank Junior High School, and Oswego High School.

The annual food drive began in 2014, when OSD 308 made an inaugural donation of 58,000 items to the Kendall County Community Food Pantry – the largest single donation ever made to the pantry.

“That record was shattered when the district collected over 85,000 items, again in 2016 with over 113,000 items, and in 2017 with a record breaking 126,932 items, and a shattering record in 2019 with a combined items and ‘cash equivalent’ items of 286,611,” the press statement read.

Donations continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, collecting 139,152 items and cash equivalent in 2020.

With a seven-year total of 953,259 items and cash equivalent, Superintendent John Sparlin said that this year’s collection should push the district over one million items collected.

“This will be our eighth year of our students, parents, and staff coming together to help combat hunger in the area,” Sparlin said. “This is a wonderful way to align our efforts, while the students learn about hunger and the importance of giving back to the community.

“By working together, every little bit counts.”

The public can donate online, through the website kccfoodpantry.org/SD308. The Kendall County Community Food Pantry’s bulk buying power ability allows for the purchase of $8 in groceries for every $1 donation – a $10 donation would mean credit for 80 food items in the competition.

For more information, visit SD308.org/fooddrive.

Source: The Daily Chronicle