ST. GEORGE – Thousands of pounds of donated food goods are headed to the Utah Food Bank Southern Utah Distribution Center thanks to a friendly competition between employees of the RAM Company of St. George.

It was either Team Red or Team Blue for the over 200 RAM Company employees who organized and participated in the food drive that collected 15,293 pounds of food; 8,669 pounds for Team Red and 6,624 for Team Blue.

This marks the second year that RAM employees have led the charge in collecting food to help feed the hungry in Southern Utah. Last year employees collected over 8,000 pounds and recorded the largest donation the Utah Food Bank Southern Utah Distribution Center had ever received at that time.

Employees had only one week to collect as many pounds of food donations as they could for their teams, said RAM Company president Kevin Ganowsky.

“Employees, in just one week’s time have done an incredible job,” Ganowsky said.

The two teams utilized both conventional means such as car washes and bake sales, as well as social media sites such as Facebook and GoFundMe to bring in food donations and money to shop for food.

Ram Company Shop Support Supervisor Christopher Johnson was allied with Team Red for this year’s food drive and took it upon himself, he said, to create a team mascot – The Red Barron, appropriately – and to set up a GoFundMe account which helped to bring in a lot of funds which were used to purchase food to fill Team Red’s bins.

“A lot of friends and a lot of family came together to help me put together the funds that ended up really bringing all the food in that we couldn’t have done by ourselves,” Johnson said.

For Team Blue member Linda Wallace, participating in the food drive meant a lot to her. She said she has, like many others, known hunger before.

“I’ve been there and I know we probably have lots of people here that have been there and who had to have been hungry once or twice,” Wallace said. “Mine actually was my kids … and when you don’t have food for your kids, it’s sad.”

Wallace was grateful to the RAM Company for allowing the employees to do this for others, adding that it gives her a warm feeling inside.

Brandy Adams, a member of Team Red agreed with Wallace. For Adams it was heartwarming to see how RAM Company employees, as well as their family and friends, cared about others.

“It’s really heartwarming to know that there are people who still care out there and want to support those around us,” Adams said.

Although Team Red came out on top of the competition, Johnson said in the end they are all really on Team Purple.

“We came together as a company to do this,” Johnson said. “And that’s what’s really exciting and what’s really wonderful.”

In addition to the bins of food the teams gathered, RAM Company ownership donated 30 turkeys to the cause.

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