The 9th annual Kent Turkey Challenge raised $16,762 and collected 10,573 pounds of food this holiday season for the Kent Food Bank.
To help feed families during Thanksgiving, Torklift Central and the participating businesses have raised $175,165 and collected 66,139 pounds of food during its nine years.
“We are grateful to host the Kent Turkey Challenge and see the outpouring of the community’s generous donations,” said Torklift Central owner Jack Kay whose company started the event. “We are incredibly humbled by the amount of donations we’ve helped collect over the past nine years.”
One hundred percent of the donations go to the Kent Food Bank. For every $10 donation, the Food Bank reports it can feed a family of four for four days. This year, the Kent Food Bank reported they were able to feed hundreds of families and give them full Thanksgiving meals.
“The annual Kent Turkey Challenge is a wonderful drive bringing together our community to provide holiday food for hundreds of families each year,” said Jeniece Choate, Kent Food Bank executive director. “Because of the drive and its success, the Kent Food Bank has been able to eliminate pre-registration and can sign families up during the food distribution days.”
Prior to the Turkey Challenge, the food bank distributed mostly canned food items and very few turkeys. Now they have fresh produce, butter, milk, eggs and turkeys for everyone.
Top five monetary donors
• Eberle Vivian $4,415
• Pacific Power Group $3,355
• Pegasus Northwest Inc. $1,875
• Chateau at Valley Center $1,775
• Kent United Methodist Church $1,190
(Torklift Central provided up to $315 in matching donations to each of the top five donors)
Top five food donors
• Grass Lake Elementary School 1,863 items
• Seattle/Tacoma KOA 1,791 items
• Kent CrossFit 1,172 items
• Anytime Fitness 448 items
• Blinker Tavern 436 items
To see the complete list of business donations, visit torkliftcentral.com/turkey.
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