Food Fight on Pin Oak Parkway: Businesses Aim to Feed

Nine Pin Oak Parkway businesses have joined in a food fight. The expected winner? The Second Harvest Food Bank, who will receive the donations gathered in the contest that ends this week.

GL Direct and Thogus products, in conjunction with Second Harvest Food Bank, are behind the inaugural "Pin Oak Parkway FOOD Fight."

Winner of the FOOD Fight will be determined by “meals” provided. Cash donations equate to five meals per every dollar while food measures out to 1.3lbs equating one meal.

Applied Specialties, Awesome Wares, GL Direct, MT Business Technologies, Pembroke Kids, Thogus Products, Total Line Refrigeration and Western Enterprises have signed on, and have collected more than 10,000 meals as of Nov. 19. The contest ends Nov. 30.

The businesses of Pin Oak Parkway discovered that by combining their efforts, the end result could be much greater. The contest was the idea of Thogus president Matt Hlavin.

"It made sense that collectively we (the businesses on Pin Oak Parkway) could donate more to Second Harvest than any solo endeavor  and in the process get to know our neighbors,” Hlavin said. “Being competitive is fun and with the end result being able to give back to our community, how can you go wrong."

Hlavin learned in 2011 Second Harvest served 77,000 people through their member agencies, which represents one of every six people in their service areas that are considered to be food insecure. By definition, food insecure means that they might not eat if possibly a car repair is needed, or something comes up that is deemed more critical than food.