A Food Fight For All

Talk of the Town - December 2018

Fiercely competitive and always fun, this annual drive to restock the Hancock County Food Pantry grows each year. 
- story by Lisa Monti, photos courtesy Sound Insurance.

The annual Food Fight to collect items for the local food pantry is around the midway mark and donations are surpassing last year’s totals. So are the number of participating teams, up to 48 and still growing, according to organizers with Sound Insurance Solutions.

​In just three years, the holiday drive has made a tremendous impact on families in need around South Mississippi. Last year alone, the drive helped to feed more than 2,000 families.

​The Food Fight was started by Sandra Everhart, whose husband Gary founded Sound Insurance Solutions in Bay St. Louis. ​

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Christy Bond

The couple shares an active interest in helping to provide for children, and they made their family-owned business the driving force behind the Food Fight. The drive extends to D’Iberville, Columbia, Hattiesburg and Laurel, where Sound Insurance has offices.
 
The Food Fight runs from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15. During that time, teams from local businesses, plus schools and youth organizations, collect canned food and food products, cooking oil, dry goods such as flour, pasta and grits, as well as dish and laundry soaps and personal hygiene products for the needy.

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The Bay St. Louis drive benefits the Hancock County Food Pantry. Other Sound Insurance offices choose which nonprofit in their community will receive their donations.
 
Christy Bond of Sound Insurance in Bay St. Louis, who leads the annual event, says they’ve turned the fight against hunger into a friendly but fierce competition. The team that collects the most items receives the coveted but quirky Food Fight trophy adorned with canned goods.

​Christy said Advantage Title of Bay St. Louis has captured the trophy the last two years, followed closely last year by Starfish Cafe. “They were in a very close race and Starfish almost had them,” she says.

2017 1st place winner Advantage Title

2017 2nd place winner, Starfish Cafe

To keep a competitive edge and pump up their collections, teams can track the competition online as the drive nears completion. “It’s always fun,” Christy says of the push by teams to take first place.
 
This year, 48 teams are participating, and it’s not too late to join in the drive. Teams can register online at Sound Insurance Solutions website, which has all the information needed to get started.  You can also keep up to date with the Food Fight Event on Facebook.