DAVENPORT-- Students from 17 area high schools spent the day unloading and stacking boxes filled with food.
"It's really rewarding to see how many layers we have stacked up," says Rivermont Collegiate senior Hannah Laufenberg.
Seeing the boxes filled with food makes six weeks of work worth it.
Each pallet is weighed and the totals are tallied. The collectors wait for the grand finale.
When it's all said and done, the total for the 2017 Student Hunger Drive comes in at 424,845 pounds, almost a half million pounds going to people in need in the community.
"You just can't even fathom it. You see all this food here. It's going to go to a good place and going to help someone out who really needs it," says North Scott sophomore Grace Sampson.
Schools taking tome the title of hunger drive champs; among the small schools, Rivermont Collegiate raising on average 159.6 pounds of food per student. Alleman High School takes home the title in its division with 151.2 pounds of food per student. And in the large school division, Pleasant Valley High brings in 45.31 pounds per student.
Students use the victory as motivation because they know hunger doesn't stop. And neither do these kids.
"We're trying to get events going throughout the year so people understand that it's an ongoing issue. It never stops," says Sampson.
The full list of winners is below.
Division A: (enrollment 1,251+)
1st place- Pleasant Valley High School- 45.31 pounds per student
2nd place- Davenport West High School- 34.97 pounds per student
Division B: (enrollment 300-1250)
1st place- Alleman High School-151.2 pounds per student
2nd place-Assumption High School- 46.46 pounds per student
Division C: (enrollment 25-299)
1st place- Rivermont Collegiate-159.6 pounds per student
2nd place- Morning Star Academy-97.16 pounds per student
Division D: (enrollment 1-24)
Crossroads-212.9 pounds per student
Mission Challenge Winner- Pleasant Valley High School
