PICKENS COUNTY — Trucks and SUVs stuffed full of everything from cans of vegetables to bags of potatoes began lining up in the traffic circle of the Civic Center of Anderson even before the designated weigh-in time began Jan. 4.

Teams of fisherman arriving for the Striped Bass Challenge had one final stop to make before the start of the Captains Dinner – dropping off their food donations for Golden Harvest Food Bank.

For almost three hours, teams piled the food bank’s scales high with ‘most-wanted food items’ like soup, pasta, rice, dried beans, cans of fruit, granola bars and peanut butter. Some even arrived with entire pallets of food strapped to their truck beds or trailers. In the end, teams dropped off almost 30,000 pounds of food.

In the weeks leading up to the Jan. 5 fishing tournament, teams already had delivered more than 20,000 pounds of nonperishable food items to Golden Harvest’s warehouses in Aiken and Anderson.

“I think everybody could imagine being hungry or needing food, so I think it’s easy for everybody to grab ahold of and help,” said Mike Dillon, the tournament’s organizer. “We’re all blessed and fortunate to have what we have so we need to give back.”

This is the third year that the Striped Bass Challenge has collected food and funds to support the food bank. Golden Harvest serves the hungry in five counties in Upstate South Carolina – Oconee, Pickens, Greenwood, Abbeville and Anderson. One in 6 adults and 1 in 5 children struggle with hunger in these counties and often do not know when their next meal will be. There are 63 partner agencies in the Upstate who distribute food from Golden Harvest directly to families in need.

“Giving is always good,” said Zach Smith, a fisherman with the Striper Hounds team out of Greenville. “A lot of people bring a lot of food, so I thought I’d bring some drinks. I’ve got a whole pallet of apple juice.”

When all the food and monetary donations had been totaled, the Striped Bass Challenge had brought in a record 51,000 pounds of food and raised 54,886 meals for the hungry. It’s as exciting as it can be,” Dillon said. “They just keep giving more and more. It’s just really special to be a part of it.”

Golden Harvest Food Bank staff weighed, tallied and loaded donations onto a truck to be shipped back to the food bank’s Upstate Distribution Center, where the food will be sorted and distribute to partner agencies and make its way to families in need.

“It’s so rewarding to see this tournament and the meal donations grow,” said Melissa Brown, a development officer with Golden Harvest Food Bank. “Many of these fishermen are from outside our service area but they still feel called to help us fight hunger. They know we’re all in this together.”

Michael Eller of the team Mike’s Mountain Minners (which the team uses as bait) arrived at the donation drop-off with double pallets of food on his flat bed.
https://www.sentinelprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_harvest1.jpgMichael Eller of the team Mike’s Mountain Minners (which the team uses as bait) arrived at the donation drop-off with double pallets of food on his flat bed. Courtesy photo

Danny Finley of team Fish Trap donated a number of flats of canned goods and 5-pound bags of rice.
https://www.sentinelprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_harvest2.jpgDanny Finley of team Fish Trap donated a number of flats of canned goods and 5-pound bags of rice. Courtesy photo

Jeff Gerrin of team Mad Bait out of Alto, Ga., stacks 50 pound bags of rice on the scale.
https://www.sentinelprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_harvest3.jpgJeff Gerrin of team Mad Bait out of Alto, Ga., stacks 50 pound bags of rice on the scale. Courtesy photo

Zakk Smith of the Striper Hounds fishing team came from Greenville with an entire pallet of apple juice.
https://www.sentinelprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_harvest4.jpgZakk Smith of the Striper Hounds fishing team came from Greenville with an entire pallet of apple juice. Courtesy photo
Striped Bass Challenge Raises 54,886 Meals

Staff report