By Kat Bryant
Grays Harbor News Group
It was very close, but Hoquiam High School won the 2019 Food Ball competition, ending Aberdeen’s three-year streak.
The Aberdeen Bobcat mascot applauded and the Hoquiam cheerleading squad burst into the school’s fight song as the Grizzly raised its paws in victory Tuesday evening at the Grays Harbor PUD offices.
The equivalent of 1,754,353 pounds of food was collected in total between Nov. 1 and 12. (Monetary donations are multiplied by 10 to calculate the equivalency in food weight.)
The competition was fairly close this year. The final count for Hoquiam was 5,951 pounds of food plus $87,292, for the equivalent of 878,869.5 pounds. Aberdeen collected 8,270 pounds of food plus $86,721, which translated into 875,483.7 pounds.
HHS Food Ball adviser Katie Barr was overcome with happy tears.
“All of our kids from both Aberdeen and Hoquiam did great,” she said. “They worked really hard, put in countless hours — and our communities are very generous. That’s a lot of money to give.”
“It’s amazing! They brought in so much and did so well,” HHS assistant principal Bonnie Jump said just before she was deluged by celebrating students.
HHS alumna Jill Bellis also was bursting with pride on Tuesday. She came up with the idea of Food Ball in 1981, when she was traffic manager at local radio stations KXRO and KDUX. She conceived it as a way to revive the lost tradition of the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between the rival schools.
She said it was a tough sell with the station manager, who wasn’t from this area.
“How do you explain the history and the intense rivalry between two schools to a boss who had grown up in LA? He had no idea the loyalty, the strong sense of competition or the way Harbor people dig deep and support their youth and community,” said Bellis. “He soon found out. The rest is history.”
Barr talked about meeting young Marcie Russel, who put a handful of her own coins into the Food Ball box at the Hoquiam Swanson’s store. It’s uncertain whether she had any family ties to the high school.
“She was just this little girl who came to the store. Her mom said she didn’t ask to buy Krispy Kremes or anything like that; she just wanted to empty her piggy bank to be able to donate,” said Barr.
“This is what it’s all about,” she said. “Even the smallest gift — it’s the heart behind it that’s most important.”
Brent Hunter, executive director of Coastal Harvest, also was on hand for the announcement. The nonprofit picked up all the food from the schools and weighed it, and now will be responsible for distributing the food and funds where they’re needed.
While the organization serves more than 50 food banks in seven Washington counties, Hunter emphasized that all of the fruits of Food Ball will remain local.
“What’s collected on the Harbor stays on the Harbor,” he said with a smile.
Still, he added, Food Ball isn’t just local news.
“These schools get recognition they don’t realize from outside the area,” said Hunter. “There are other areas and other school districts that watch what they do and want to start up their own.”
Kat Bryant | Grays Harbor News Group Hoquiam Food Ball adviser Katie Barr, third from right, poses with her student team after the totals were announced Tuesday evening.
Photo courtesy Katie Barr Young Marcie Russel broke open her piggy bank and donated her coins to Food Ball at the Hoquiam Swanson’s store this past week.
