Mauston High School food challenge delivers for pantry | Regional ... - WiscNews

Mauston High School food challenge delivers for pantry | Regional ... - WiscNews

Mauston High School came through in a big way for the local food pantry.

MHS held its annual food challenge to raise money and collect perishable food items for the Mauston Area Community Sharing Pantry on Tuesday. Students amassed a grand total of 7,176 pounds of food, a value of $1,195.75, in the challenge. The challenge also included games and fun activities among students.

Through a program with the Second Harvest Food Bank, Mauston competes with other schools in the area. MHS traditionally does very well in the food challenge and the trend continued this year. The Bank of Mauston also chipped in with $2,000.

Pantry director Kathy Green thanked the school for its generosity. The annual challenge is an important food drive for the local pantry. Last year, the pantry provided food for 770 different families in the Mauston area. With its new renovation and expansion complete, the pantry has additional room for products.

“We had 11 pallets of food delivered to the pantry on Tuesday night,” Green said. “We emptied three of them last night into different areas and we had a truck delivery Wednesday morning that had seven pallets. We could get 15 pallets into that building at one time and I would still have room left.”

Classes at MHS also competed against each other to collect food. Green said she’s always impressed by the giving spirit of students in the area.

“The kids did awesome and they always do,” Green said. “It’s a good group of kids to work with and be inspired by; we have great youth in this town. And the teachers too, because if they don’t step up and take an interest in it, the kids won’t. We have great staff here, altogether.”

For more information on the community sharing pantry, call 608-847-5454.