The annual friendly Mudsock week competition within HSE Schools fueled the largest PastaBowl collection yet.  In total, the 22 HSE Schools collected and donated 40,197 lbs. of pasta to Hamilton County food service organizations.  This was a new PastaBowl record and an increase of more than 20,000 lbs. over last year’s record-setting donations.

“The PastaBowl has been called the largest pasta drive involving K-12 schools in the world, and it may be starting to live up to the hype with more than double the donations from a year ago,” said John DeLucia, of Citizens State Bank and Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation Advisory Council member, who helped start the community food drive in 2012.

• Hamilton Southeastern High School was the high school division and overall winner with 6,464 lbs. The Royals unseated Fishers High School who had won the high school division each previous year.
• Fall Creek Intermediate won the intermediate/junior high division with 3,176 lbs. They replaced Riverside Intermediate School who had been the only previous champion in that category.
• Cumberland Road Elementary won the elementary division with 3,394 lbs. Hoosier Road Elementary had been the perennial elementary champion.
• Sand Creek Elementary won biggest gain title by increasing their collection by 1,389% over 2018.

 

In addition to the schools listed above, Durbin Elementary, Hoosier Road Elementary and Riverside Intermediate are being awarded the honorable mention awards for 2019.  Each of these schools collected over 3 lbs. of pasta per enrolled student.

“PastaBowl is at the intersection of compassion and competition.  I commend all our students this year for their competitive spirit and for an outstanding demonstration of compassion in combatting hunger.  It was an enjoyable way to make a positive difference for people in need,” said HSE Schools Superintendent, Dr. Allen Bourff.

“It’s a testament to the values of our residents when we can come together as a community for a little friendly competition that benefits something much larger than all of us,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.  “Congratulations to the winners but also to each of the students, parents and volunteers who made this record-breaking effort a reality.”

Organizers were thrilled with the increased donations this year as it is estimated that 1 in 7 HSE students struggle with hunger.  Nearly as important as the food donations, PastaBowl also raises awareness for the 3,000 local children struggling with food insecurities.  The pasta is a core staple for area food pantries and comes at an essential time during the pre-holiday months when donations are often low.

“It is exciting to see what can happen when kids get involved in something meaningful to the community around them.  The Delaware Township Trustee’s food pantry serves the entire school district and solely relies on the donations we receive from people in the community.  We receive enough pasta each year from the PastaBowl to share with pantry clients for several months.  Our thanks to all the students who participated this year!” said Deborah R. Driskell, Delaware Township Trustee.

Meijer again supported the PastaBowl as the title sponsor of this effort and kept the store shelves stocked with pasta in the weeks leading up to the donation.  A food drive of this magnitude is not possible without an army of volunteers, donors and supporters that included White River Christian Church Food Pantry, Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank, HSE Schools Transportation and Food Services departments, Citizens State Bank, St. Louis De Montfort Catholic School, Remax Complete, Bailey & Wood Mortgage, the Foundation Board members and staff, Lacrosse teams from HSE and Fishers high schools and all 22 HSE Schools.

Students from the winning schools will celebrate with a group photo at the Meijer on 96^th street on Tuesday, 10/1 at 4:30 pm.

Additional information about the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation: www.hsefoundation.org.