Christmas Cheer Food Drive Collects 161,933 Pounds of Food

Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and KALB-TV sponsor Food Drive benefitting the Food Bank of Central Louisiana

The results of the 2021 KALB-TV Christmas Cheer Food Drive are complete, and 161,933 pounds of non-perishable food items were collected from Avoyelles, Grant, Natchitoches, Rapides, and Vernon parish schools, according to Jayne Wright-Velez, executive director of the Food Bank of Central Louisiana. Sponsored bythe Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and KALB-TV, 61 local schools participated in the drive to help collect food for the Food Bank of Central Louisiana.

The total amount collected in Avoyelles parish was 41,325 pounds, 15,861 pounds in Grant parish, 8,739 pounds in Natchitoches parish, 65,611 pounds in Rapides parish, and 30,397 pounds in Vernon parish.

The following schools led their parish in donations:

Avoyelles – Lafargue Elementary (6,828 pounds) and Bunkie High School (13,458 pounds)

Grant – South Grant Elementary School (5,089 pounds), Grant Junior High (1,022 pounds), and Georgetown High School (2,936 pounds)

Natchitoches – Provencal Elementary School (1,753 pounds), Natchitoches Magnet School (2,352 pounds), and Natchitoches Central High School (1,224 pounds).

Rapides – Phoenix Magnet Elementary School (12,289 pounds), Pineville Junior High (6,109 pounds), and Pineville High School (5,593 pounds). Phoenix Magnet Elementary School also took home the top prize for donating the most pounds per student (32.42 pounds per student).

Vernon – Rosepine Elementary School (6,595 pounds), Vernon Middle School (1,665 pounds), and Rosepine High School (6,334 pounds).

Eight thousand dollars in prize money from the Tunica Biloxi Indians will be distributed to these schools for their outstanding efforts to help the Food Bank of Central Louisiana.