Peninsula wins ‘Food Bowl’ charity food drive, brings in 2,564 pounds

Peninsula High School actually went 2-0 on Fish Bowl Friday. Not only did the football team knock off crosstown rival Gig Harbor, 33-7 — the Seahawks won the “Food Bowl” as well.

Peninsula High students and staff won the contest for the second straight year, bringing in 2,564 pounds of food for FoodBackpacks4Kids. Gig Harbor brought in 1,760 pounds.

“The whole school came together,” said Peninsula ASB advisor Danielle O’Leary. “(The two schools) were really pushing each other in a positive way.”

Peninsula technically “won” the contest, but the real winner was the community.

“It’s huge,” O’Leary said. “It’s different for different schools. We have a high population here that use food backpacks. Our social worker said 50 (Peninsula High School) students every week take home backpacks. I know the numbers are even higher at KPMS, Vaughn — they really utilize it.”

And it came at a good time of the year, starting the school year off in a positive way, and stocking the Food Backpacks’ cupboards full of food.

“They really appreciate it being this time of year,” O’Leary said.

The food drive wasn’t the only big success surrounding this year’s edition of the Fish Bowl. For the first time, the big game featured a variety of food trucks to satisfy the appetites of the massive crowd.

“I think they were a success,” O’Leary said. “They hard large lines all night, and they told my bookkeeper they’d love to come back any time. It was great to see people enjoying the food and having options. It felt like a fair.”

Part of the aim of the food trucks was to discourage tailgating in the parking lots and keep the event as family friendly as possible. On that front, it was another success, according to O’Leary.

“I felt people were really respectful,” she said. “People were really respectful (in) not using the campus during the day. (There were) a few tailgates here and there but we think the number were smaller. People were using Fish Bowl for its purpose.”

Gig Harbor High School will play host next year, and its administrators and ASB will decide whether or not to bring the food trucks back. But O’Leary and PHS plan to bring them back in two years’ time, when Peninsula is the host again.

This story was originally published September 21, 2016 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Peninsula wins ‘Food Bowl’ charity food drive, brings in 2,564 pounds."