Mayor's Challenge Produces 3,000 Food Items, $1,150 in Donations for HVCC

It was dubbed the Mayor's Challenge, but Mayor George Apel refused to pose with the more than 3,000 food items collected by town employees for FoodShare and the Hockanum Valley Community Council food pantry.

"It's about the winning team," he said. "It's about all the teams."

Last month, Apel divided town departments into teams and said he was skipping the traditional holiday buffet at Town Hall and instead pledged to serve breakfast at his own expense to the team that collected the most food.

That was Team 3 - the Water Pollution Control authority, information technology staff, the cemetery staff, the Senior Center, the Finance Department, the Building Department, the fire marshal and probate court.

The team collected more than 1,100 items.

So there was Apel on Thursday morning, slicing coffee cake and preparing other continental breakfast dishes for the winners.

FoodShare immediately turned the items over to HVCC. Apel also pledged $500  out of his own pocket for FoodShare credit to HVCC and challenged the Town Council to match it. The council pledged $650.