A friendly Food Feud competition between five Marathon Petroleum divisions yielded a large donation to River Cities Harvest in Ashland, Kentucky, a food rescue agency that supplies 29 area food pantries in Kentucky and Ohio.

The fourth annual Food Feud kicked off in early January, and the final weigh-in was held on Feb. 11. The five participating divisions from Marathon's operations in Kentucky and West Virginia collected a total of 14,079 pounds of food.

“Another win for the community,” said Brittnany Hoback, River Cities Harvest Executive Director. “Thank you, Marathon Petroleum employees, for your generosity to this noble cause.”

“The reason I participate is because everyone goes through tough times, but nobody should go through them hungry.”

Participating in this year’s competition were employees from Marathon Petroleum’s Catlettsburg refinery, Russell satellite office and marine division in Kentucky, and Terminals and Rail divisions located in nearby Kenova, West Virginia. Terminals and Rail was the winning team, collecting just under 40 pounds of food per employee.

“I am honored to be a board member for River Cities Harvest and work for a company that makes it a priority to support the communities where we live and operate,” said Adam Stapleton, Senior Business Analyst at the Catlettsburg refinery and Food Feud leader. “Marathon has consistently invested through corporate giving and employee giving initiatives.”

The annual event has become an employee favorite over the years, always leading to some last-minute excitement as the weigh-in approaches. Sherri Brown from Marine Transportation showed up to the weigh-in with her vehicle visibly weighted down with food, including 250 pounds of potatoes, for the final donation from her organization.

“The reason I participate is because everyone goes through tough times, but nobody should go through them hungry,” Brown said. “I believe we should all share what we have and accept help when we need it.”

Since the Food Feud’s inception, Marathon employees have donated approximately 50,000 pounds to dozens of food pantries in Boyd, Greenup and Lawrence counties in Kentucky and Lawrence County in Ohio.