Battle Ground students collect 23,000 pounds of food

Battle Ground — Throughout the first two weeks of December, students at Battle Ground Public Schools collected nonperishable food items for the North County Food Bank as part of its annual holiday food drive. This year, the schools collected 23,928 pounds of food. In a friendly competition to collect the most food, Daybreak Middle School students brought in 3,851 pounds of food, earning them a win over Chief Umtuch Middle School students, who collected 2,767 pounds. Chief Umtuch’s eighth-graders helped the food bank sort through 10 tons of food on Dec. 5 during its community Walk and Knock event. They also raised $810.18 in pennies thanks to a penny drive at the school.