Sumner Students Gather 11,000 Pounds Of Food For Local Food Bank

SUMNER, WA — Sumner High School is celebrating an especially successful Food Bowl 2020, after students and the community rallied together to give more than 11,000 pounds to the local food bank.

Over the past few weeks, the classes of Sumner High have been competing to see which group could gather the most food: some stood outside the local Fred Meyer seeking donations, others worked with their family and community to gather donations — but all worked hard to help those in need.

Thursday, after weeks of hard work from students, the school has announced that the drive is over, raising exactly 11,386 pounds of food for the Sumner Community Food Bank. The school has also released the official ranking:

1. Class of 2023: 3626 pounds
2. Class of 2021: 3233 pounds
3. Class of 2024: 2619 pounds
4. Class of 2022: 1908 pounds

Regardless of who won, however, the community will be thankful for all the help. The need for food has skyrocketed across the country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and that includes here in Washington. The non-profit Feeding America predicted last summer that 50 million Americans, including 17 million children, could face hunger by year's end because of the pandemic. They also project that the food insecurity rate in Pierce County will rise to 16.5 percent in 2020, up from 11.8 percent in 2018.

The Sumner Community Food Bank has been serving the community for over 30 years. They say, even before the pandemic, the food bank served around 274 families and 1,000 individuals each month, for more than 10,000 people served each year.

Learn more about the Sumner Community Food Bank, including how to donate or how to receive support if you or your family are struggling.

In Washington, one in nine people and one out of every seven children struggles with hunger, according to Feeding America. They estimated it would take a total of $438,026,000 per year to keep people facing hunger in Washington fed.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.