Food bank drive gains momentum in final weeks

Pickleballers gain momentum in the dying weeks of their campaign and collected another 28 boxes for their summer-long food bank drive.

By the end, they had collected 77 boxes of nonperishables that were given to the Activettes Food Bank.

In July, pickleballer Bill Cooper started encouraging those using the 1st St. E. outdoor courts to bring along a few items.

By the end of August, they had collected 49 boxes, then a final push saw donations climb in the final few weeks.

"I was emailing like crazy to people to sort of match each other, and they did, and it came through," says Cooper. "It was definitely the best week, week and a half we had. I was pretty happy."

He says they've since received a note of thanks from the Activettes for their contribution.

Cooper is hoping they can do it again with gusto during the next outdoor season. He may even reach out to other pickleball communities to have a friendly competition to see who can collect the most food.