Pima Butte Elementary wins $1,000 for Feed our Families Challenge

Pima Butte Elementary School was presented with a $1,000 check this past Wednesday for winning the 2nd annual Feed our Families Challenge.

“This is a great honor for our students,” said Pima Butte principal Korrin Ledbetter.

The Feed our Families Challenge is an annual event, put on by local businesses Treasured Smiles Children’s Dentistry and Primer Orthodontics, that challenges schools to collect non-perishable food items to benefit the Maricopa F.O.R. food bank.

The school collecting the most food wins the title and a $1,000 check.

“This contest is just a great way to get the children in the school actively involved in helping those less fortunate,” said Treasured Smiles dentist Duane Clouse.

Dustin Coles, owner and primary orthodontist at Premier Orthodontics, added, “This community has supported my office for years, and this is just a small way we can help give back.”

This year all Maricopa Unified School District elementary schools, Legacy Traditional School, Pathway Preparatory Academy and Ak-Chin Child Development participated in the contest, raising a combined 9,390 pounds of food between Nov. 15 and 19.

However, the winner of the contest was judged on pounds per child, not total weight donated. “We wanted the contest to be fair to smaller schools,” Clouse said.

The winner of the contest, Pima Butte, raised 3.9 pounds per student or 1,512 total pounds of food.

Each school received $100 for their participation.

“We are thrilled with the amount of food this contest raised,” Clouse added.

Ledbetter said her students plan to take the money they won through the contest and reinvest it in other non-profit organizations.

“The kids truly want to pay it forward,” she said.

She added the students will also leave a small portion of the money in the school to buy supplies.

Photo by Michael K. Rich