Schools, communities demonstrate generosity during food drive

KELLOGG — Not even tragedy could slow down the generosity and hard work of the students at Kellogg High School.

While the inaugural Clash of the Claws wasn’t able to happen in the wake of the loss of beloved assistant football coach and community member Craig Lewis, the school still made sure it did everything in its power to help those in need.

As they have done in years past during the Brawl for the Ball era, the leadership students set a lofty goal for themselves and their fellow student body at Bonners Ferry High School.

They may not have hit it, but their efforts were respectable nonetheless.

Through the use of traditional non-perishable food donations, as well as monetary donations from locals and businesses alike, the schools were able to amass over 10,000 pounds of food (9,658.40 of which came from KHS), which will make its way into the respective food banks of the communities in which it was donated.

"Although we didn't quite reach our 10,000 pound goal, we came very close," said KHS leadership teacher Kelton Enich. "We know our community has been hit hard over the last two and a half years, so any contributions we can give back to people in need is amazing. It was really great to see our student body and larger community network come together to support our local food banks."

The timing for these types of civically motivated drives is important as it helps community food banks replenish their shelves after usually cleaning them out during the holiday seasons.

“I’m so proud of our students and our community,” KHS Activities Director Heather Goodner said. “Even though the ending to our food drive didn’t go exactly as planned, it was great to see the kids and community come together.”

After it was announced that the Clash event was off, the expectation was that the food donations would simply stop.

That wasn’t the case.

The community once again rallied together to make sure that it took care of its own.

At BFHS, just the act of running a competitive food drive was a highlight for it according to its leadership instructor Abby Panabacker.

“It's been a blast,” Panabacker said. “The December ham and turkey drive between the middle school and high school has been an annual competition, and our combined efforts brought in 98 hams and turkeys this year — that's pretty huge.”

Clash of the Claws was almost thrown together so quickly that neither school had the opportunity to properly prepare for it, however, both schools are already looking forward to next year.

“Of course, starting a new tradition is difficult,” Panabacker said. “We're hoping to include personal invitations to the community next year, and we believe that, with how close-knit Bonners Ferry is, our town will be a great support for our food drive.”