Marple Newtown Joins Food Fight Competition to Benefit Philabundance

NEWTOWN SQUARE– has joined the cause in fighting hunger with Shire's Great Food Fight! to benefit Philabundance–a non-profit food bank that serves the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley region of Pennsylvania.

On Feb. 8 at 2 p.m., Marple Newtown will face off other schools at Penncrest High School, including Harriton High School, Lower Merion High School, Penncrest High School, Holy Ghost Preparatory School, Center for Arts and Technology in Pickering, Central High School in Philadelphia, Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Upper Moreland in Willow Grove, Conestoga High School, Renaissance Academy in Phoenixville, Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, and Sun Valley High School in Aston, to kickoff the food fight in a pep rally involving all these schools.

Marple Newtown is among the 22 southeastern Pennsylvania high schools that will square off in a region-wide community service competition against one of the area’s biggest rivals–hunger, according to a recent press release from Shire's.

Shire's Great Food Fight! is a unique food drive that will take place from Feb. 15 to March 2, states Shire's in the press release. According to Shire's, the goal is to collect 100 tons of food—the equivalent of 200,000 meals–for families in need across the greater Philadelphia region, in which many are located in Delaware County.

“Our agencies have seen 26 percent more families coming to them for food assistance over the past year, which is putting a great strain on our already limited resources,” said Bill Clark, president and executive director of Philabundance in the press release. “Shire’s Great Food Fight! could not come at a better time. With support from high school students across the region, this drive will help us provide much-needed food for pantries across the Delaware Valley to help them meet the growing need.”

According to Shire's Great Food Fight!, Shire's will award seven prizes in total: $10,000 to the school that raises the most food as measured in pounds, $5,000 for the school that collects the most food in pounds per student and $1,000 to the school in each of the five southeastern Pennsylvania counties that collects the most food in pounds in that county.

“In our first Great Food Fight! Eighteen schools collected 64 tons of food over the two week drive. We want to build on that success to help even more people who are struggling,” stated Mike Cola, president of Shire’s Specialty Pharmaceuticals business, in the press release. “We encourage Delaware County neighbors, community organizations, elementary and middle schools, and local businesses to reach out to their local participating high schools and get involved.”

For more information on the Great Food Fight!, visit http://www.philabundance.org/thegreatfoodfight.