The Great Bend Schools Competition, sponsored by Gifting Forward, has partnered with Wheatland Electric’s annual Cram the Van food drive for 11 years.

Our collective goal is to collect cash and can donations for the Community Food Bank of Barton County! 

In 2024, the competition raised nearly four tons of food to benefit the local food bank. Students from 12 area schools participated in the friendly food drive, collecting 9,661 pounds during November 2024.

Gifting Forward has generously sponsored $1,500 in cash prizes again this year for this year’s competition running from Oct. 27-31, 2024. Prizes will be awarded to the top four schools with the highest pounds of food donated per student.

All donations – both cash and can – will delivered to the Community Food Bank of Barton County, just ahead of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons.

Our 2024 collection brings the combined nine-year collection total in Great Bend to 92,327 pounds. That’s over 46 tons of cash and non-perishable food items donated since the inception of Power the Pantry (formerly Cram the Van’s) in 2014 ($1 donation = 1 lb. of food).

“This event not only gives our area students the opportunity to help those less fortunate than themselves, but also helps them to better understand how a small act of kindness on their part can make a huge difference in the lives of others,” said Mary Hoisington, member services and key accounts manager at Wheatland Electric. “All of this is made possible through the financial generosity and support of Gifting Forward.”