Canton High fall athletes collect more 2,500 items for Canton Food Bank

The Canton High field hockey program collected the most items in a food drive last week that benefits the Canton Food Bank. (Photo courtesy Canton Athletic Booster Club)

CANTON, Nov. 23, 2020 – As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has no mercy and spares few. The pandemic has changed the way we do many things. People have lost their jobs, their businesses and hunger is a growing problem across the nation and in our own neighborhoods.

This past week, athletes who participated in fall sports at Canton High had some fun as they competed against each other in the Fall Sports Hunger Challenge.

The athletes collected more than 2,500 food items and cash donations for the Canton Food Bank.

“Each team had a box in front of the gym all week and students were asked to bring in canned goods and other non-perishable items and put them in their favorite team’s box. At the end of the week those items were tallied to serve as the starting point for Saturday’s big event,” said Jean Mix of the Canton Booster Club, who coordinated the event.

Last Saturday, athletes on each team – boys soccer, girls soccer, field hockey and cross country — had an extra 45-minute window for a last-minute push for donations.

Athletes from Canton collected food for the Canton Food Bank last week. (Photo courtesy Canton Athletic Booster Club)

“We were so glad to get the kids together to do something to give back to our community. There is a lot of need out there right now and together, these kids helped reduce that,” said Amy Orschel, president of the Canton Athletic Booster Club. “We are thankful to the administration for trusting us to pull this off in a safe way.”

To be safe, each team dropped off their donations separately. Masks were worn and social distancing was practiced as much as possible.

Officials from the Canton Food Bank said the donations will help more than 200 neighbors and families in the area.

“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our community,” Mix said.

The field hockey program was the winner of the event, collecting more than 700 items. The cross country program won the award for most team spirit with the highest number of donations per person and the most team members attending.

The Canton cross country program won the Spirit Award in last week’s food drive for the Canton Food Bank. (Photo courtesy Canton Athletic Booster Club)