FRISCO, TX — Keeper of the Games, a nonprofit working to help kids with special needs and disabilities get involved with softball and baseball, has partnered with Frisco Family Services and Frisco Independent School District (FISD) to run the Keeper of the Game Foundation and Pastime Training Center’s Strike Out Hunger Food Drive, in which softball teams in FISD compete to gather the most food for underprivileged communities.
In 2023, FISD collected over 2,000 items, and this year, the record was broken with over 9,000 items from the softball teams, with donations of cooking oil, ramen noodles, dish soap, bagged pasta, sugar, canned fruit, and more. This year, Centennial High School came second in the district, collecting 830 items.
However, organizing such a large-scale drive doesn’t come without difficulty. “The biggest challenge is probably getting the word out to the student body and our staff about the food drive [and] managing when items are to be turned in and how they can be delivered,” said Centennial High School head softball coach, Mackenzie Reeves.
Of all food produced in the U.S., up to 40% goes to waste (usda.gov). The residential sector produces the most waste, with Texas’ residential sector contributing 2.94 million tons of food waste— 59.4% of all food waste in Texas. On the opposite end of the spectrum, an estimated 35 million Americans are suffering from food insecurity. Texas is ranked 24th for the percentage of the population relying on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Food drives, such as the one put on by the softball program, keep food away from landfills, and in the hands of those who need it.
A variety of items are donated, but some items stand out as particularly helpful. “Ramen gets donated most often followed by pasta [and] I would also say canned goods, like green beans, etc. get donated fairly often, due to the shelf life,” Coach Reeves shared.
This year, the food drive involved more students and faculty than it had in previous years. “We collaborated with band this year. The cafeteria staff also combined together to help with our food drive this year which is awesome,” Reeves said.
Although the food drive has ended, there are still ways to get involved. If you’d like to help prevent food insecurity and give back to your community, you can donate to organizations like Donate 2 Impact or Frisco Family Services Market.
