Island Park Elementary students donated 2,064 cans of food to the Mercer Island Food Pantry shortly before Thanksgiving as part of an in-school contest.

The students divided into teams, the Huskies and the Cougars to see which group could bring in the most food. The Huskies group brought in the most, but it all went to the Food Pantry.

The food donated will help the Food Pantry stock it’s shelves at a time when food is greatly needed. This year the Food Pantry is on pace to be used by Islanders over 1,300 times in 2012, almost a 400 percent increase since the beginning of the recession in 2008.

To learn more about the Food Pantry visit the MIYFS website.