• Agency Zone
  • Member Agencies
  • Become a Member Agency
  • Forms
  • Online Ordering
• Get Involved!
  • Donate Money
  • Donate Food
  • Food Industry Donations
  • Volunteer
• Need Food?
  • Food Stamp Application Form: Illinois/Iowa
  • Meal Sites / Food Programs
  • Community Resources
  • Helpful Links
• Hunger in our Area
  • About Hunger
  • Who is Hungry
  • Myths of Hunger

Student Food Drive

The first Student Food Drive was held in December of 1986. The past 22 years has resulted in more than 10 million pounds of food has been collected by area high school student and distributed by River Bend Foodbank to those who need it the most. Product is received by 116 charitable feeding programs located in Scott, Rock Island, Muscatine, Henry and Clinton counties.

Every October, students from 24 areal high schools compete with each other to collect the most food in a six week period. The students, with the help of a faculty advisor, plan school events and contests to promote the food drive, organize their food collection, as well as package and deliver the food to the River Bend Foodbank. High schools who will participate in the 2007 Student Food Drive are: Alleman, Assumption, Bettendorf, Central, Christ Lutheran, Clinton, Geneseo, Heritage Christian, Lincoln, Lydia Urban Academy, Moline, Muscatine, North, North Scott, Orion, Pleasant Valley, Quad Cities Christian, Rivermont Collegiate, Rock Island, Rockridge, Thurgood Marshall Learning Center, United Township, West, and Wittenmyer Learning Center.

In addition to the amount of nourishing food collected for those in need, the Student Food Drive fosters volunteerism among high school students and give students the opportunity to develop organizational skills - a "real life" example of how to get things done through teamwork.

This year, Tyson Foods is partnering with America's Second Harvest to help the Student Food Drive grow into a nationwide effort and start similar drives in communities across the United States. Over the next three years, Tyson Foods will spend a half-million dollars to develop similar food drives throughout the country. Each drive will be modeled after the Quad Cities' Student Food Drive.

As a result of this effort, this year foodbanks in Amarillo, Texas; Bethel Heights, Arkansas; Madison, Wisconsin; Memphis, Tennessee and Phoenix Arizona have all started a Student Food Drive in their communities.