The Great Bend Schools Competition, sponsored by Gifting Forward, has partnered with Wheatland Electric’s annual Cram the Van food drive for 10 years. Our collective goal is to collect cash and can donations for the Community Food Bank of Barton County! 

In 2023, 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 7,501 pounds during October 2023.

Gifting Forward has generously sponsored $1,500 in cash prizes again this year for this year’s competition running from Nov. 4-8, 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 2023 collection brings the combined nine-year collection total in Great Bend to 82,631 pounds. That’s over 41 tons of cash and non-perishable food items donated since the Cram the Van’s inception in 2014 ($1 donation equals one pound 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.”