The 2022 Cram the Van food drive continued to break records on the amount of donations received, thanks to the Gifting Forward Foundation and Great Bend School competition.

The Great Bend School Competition, sponsored by the Gifting Forward Foundation, partnered with Wheatland Electric’s annual Cram the Van food drive to collect nearly six tons of food. Students from 10 area schools participated in a friendly food drive competition, once again collecting more cash and can donations than in previous years, for a total of 15,280 pounds during October 2022.

This year, the Gifting Forward Foundation generously sponsored $1,500 in cash prizes for the school competition by awarding the four top collecting schools, incentivizing more students to participate. All proceeds were delivered straight to the Community Food Bank of Barton County in Great Bend, just in time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons.

The Great Bend community contributed an additional 1,969 pounds, bringing the total collected for the local food bank to 17,249 pounds of food. This year’s collection brings the combined eight-year collection total in Great Bend to 59,932 pounds. That’s almost 30 tons of non-perishable food items and cash donated since the Cram the Van’s inception in 2014. 

In addition to the school competition, Wheatland Electric collected cash and can donations at Great Bend Alive’s September Final Friday on Sept. 30, at their Great Bend office location, and accepted monetary donations online. 

“We couldn’t have set another record-breaking year without the generous support of the Gifting Forward Foundation, Great Bend community and the hard work and commitment of our local schools,” said Mary Hoisington, member services and key accounts manager for Wheatland Electric. “This event not only gives area students the opportunity to help those less fortunate than themselves, but also helps them better understand how a small act of kindness on their part can make a huge difference in the lives of others.”