TYLER, Texas — Tyler High School and Tyler Legacy School are in the midst of their annual Pantry Raid.
For 33 years, these two schools have had a friendly competition to see who can raise the most money and donate the most food to the East Texas Food Bank. Throughout the years, this event has focused more about the mission than the competition. At the end of the day, the real winner is East Texas locals.
"It’s a competition within ourselves. It’s a grade-level competition, and the schools unite together to try and serve as many people as we can," said Cory Warren, student council president at Tyler High.
Last year, students raised enough money to supply more than 150,000 meals. The students understand any little donation can go a long way.
"I’m able to give back even if it’s just a can of corn, you know. That’s a can of corn they didn’t have before, and so it’s just really important, and it’s really heartfelt for me," Warren said.
At Tyler High, the event has turned it into a competition between grades to see who can collect the most money and the most food. At Tyler Legacy, they’ve taken it a step further. Students are going out into the community to collect donations.
"And we drop off bags on their front porch that say, ‘please fill this up with cans and we’ll come back and get it on a certain date.' Then we would go back and pick up the bags with cans, and we raised thousands of cans from that. Just from people in the community being willing to donate," said Jack Bergfeld, student council president at Tyler Legacy.
Tyler ISD students are making a difference in the community. According to the East Texas Food Bank, one out of every seven East Texans, including one in five children, are facing hunger.
"It’s a really great feeling being able to give back to our community. I know there’s a lot of people in East Texas that struggle with food insecurity, and it’s a really serious issue here," Bergfeld said. "So, it just feels great to be able to have a part in helping people with that and being able to better the community. It’s something that we’re really proud of."
For more information on the Pantry Raid and how you can donate, head to the East Texas Food Bank website.