Ripken Collegiate Baseball Players Collect 7,675 Pounds of Food for Manna Food Center

Gaithersburg Giants Win Challenge for Second Year in a Row

On Saturday, July 13, scores of college baseball players who have come from across the country to play summer baseball in Montgomery County collected 7,675 pounds of food at twelve Giant Food stores across Montgomery County for the Manna Food Center. The Gaithersburg Giants repeated as champions capturing the Tenth Annual Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League’s Feed the Hungry Challenge by collecting 2,926 pounds of food. Players from the Bethesda Big Train and Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts also collected food on Saturday. Bethesda and Silver Spring both set individual team records for the most food collected in the decade of the annual challenge. In the ten years of the competition, the college players have collected 60,846 pounds of food — more than 30 tons of food — for Montgomery County’s neighbors in need. Thanks to the Manna Food Center, Giant Food, and Text Design for supporting this community service program of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League.

Jackie DeCarlo, Manna Food Center CEO, said “Once again the Cal Ripken League teams came together for the local community in an impressive effort. The Manna team thanks all who made the collection of nearly four tons of food possible. The decade long effort by the Ripken League has provided 30 tons of food for the people we serve. It is especially valuable to get this food now to restock our shelves for the summer.” Ripken League Co-Founder Bruce Adams, who initiated the Feed the Hungry Challenge in 2010, said: “Seeing these college ballplayers who have come here from all across the country pitch in to serve our Montgomery County neighbors in need reminds us of the good there is in the world when we all work together.”

Here’s the nine-year history (TOTAL: 60,846 pounds = more than 30 tons):

2019 – July 13 (note: each team collected at four Giant Food stores)

Gaithersburg 2,926 pounds

Bethesda 2,716

Silver Spring-Takoma 2,033

TOTAL 7,675 pounds = 3.8 tons

 

2018 – June 30 (note: each team collected at three Giant Food stores)

Gaithersburg 3,205 pounds

Rockville 2,661 pounds

Bethesda 2,425

Silver Spring-Takoma 1,208

TOTAL 9,499 pounds = 4.8 tons

 

2017 – June 10 (note: each team collected at two Giant Food stores and one Whole Foods)

Rockville 3,670 pounds

Gaithersburg 2,315

Bethesda 1,726 (plus Friendship Heights Whole Foods at 435 for 2,161)

Silver Spring-Takoma 670

TOTAL 8,816 pounds = 4.4 tons

 

2016 – July 9 (note: each team collected at three rather than two Giant stores)

Rockville 3,262 pounds

Bethesda 2,415

Gaithersburg 1,204

Silver Spring-Takoma 1,202

TOTAL 8,083 pounds = 4 tons

 

2015 – July 18

Rockville 2,145 pounds

Bethesda 1,336

Gaithersburg 868

Silver Spring-Takoma 802

TOTAL 5,151 pounds

 

2014 – July 12

Bethesda 1,198

Silver Spring-Takoma 1,084

Rockville 999

Gaithersburg 659

TOTAL 3,940 pounds

 

 

2013 – July 13

Rockville 1,858
Bethesda 964
Gaithersburg 890
Silver Spring-Takoma 850
TOTAL 4,562 pounds

 

2012 – July 7

Silver Spring-Takoma 1,863

Rockville 1,621

Bethesda 1,356

TOTAL 4,840 pounds

 

2011 – June 18

Rockville 1,660

Bethesda 1,562

Silver Spring-Takoma 1,432

TOTAL 4,654 pounds

 

2010 – June 12 (note: each team collected at two Giant stores)

Rockville 1,658

Bethesda 1,166

Silver Spring-Takoma 802

TOTAL 3,626 pounds