Hunger Bowl Bowling Tournament Helps Fill Food Shelves

Superior, Wisc. —  With rising prices at the grocery store, more people have been relying on food banks to help save their budget. But with winter keeping food shelves nearly bare, different insurance companies hosted a fundraiser for Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank at a Superior bowling alley.

It’s odd to think that a bowling alley, 75 insurance companies, and a non-profit can come together for one big cause. But, when it came to the scarcity of food at Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank, local insurance agencies in the Twin Ports, Two Harbors, and Cloquet stepped in with a solution.

“Well March is the month when Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank needs the most help and that’s why we developed Hunger Bowl Twin Ports to fill that need at a time they need it most,” said George Weller, Owner of Zenith Auto Glass.

Second Harvest is the largest hunger-relief organization in the northland and serves locations as far as Ely and Grand Marais, Minnesota  as well as Hurley and Cable, Wisconsin

According to its website, Second Harvest has fed over 44,000 families distributing $13.5 million worth of groceries totaling 5.6 million meals.

A total of 21 competitive bowling teams and 16 recreational teams took part in the Hunger Bowl. The event raised over $113,000 in food value.

With all of this involvement from the community, why bowling? Weller said, “We have some pretty passionate bowlers on our team at Zenith Auto Glass and the host of the bowling alley is a friend of mine, Jeff McCaffery, and that’s how we coupled Hunger Bowl with bowling.”

Last year, the hunger bowl raised over $64,000 in food value for Second Harvest. Trophies were presented to winners of the competitive bowling tournament, other also received awards including the insurance company that raised the most funds and for fun, the worst bowler won a trophy.

Second Harvest is always accepting donations from any of their locations they serve around the northland.

Well summed up the event, “The outpouring of support amongst the business community and the other folks in our community has just been tremendous.”