A child holds a chocolate milk provided by the East Texas Food Bank in 2022 during a summer food program event at the Glass Recreational Center in Tyler. The annual Pantry Raid benefits families in need.

For decades, Tyler High and Tyler Legacy have used their football rivalry to raise meals for hungry East Texans.

Friday night, the schools met for their annual football matchup and also to hear results of the 33rd Annual Pantry Raid.

The East Texas Food Bank and Tyler ISD host the annual event. Since the pantry raid began in 1991, students have raised more than 1.6 million meals.

This year, both collected a total of 13,578 pounds of food and raised $26,646, which will provide 144,545 meals for programs serving Tyler ISD students.

“We are so excited to partner once again with the Tyler ISD to bring attention to the one in seven East Texans, including one in five children in East Texas, who are food insecure,” said David Emerson, CEO of the East Texas Food Bank. “So many of our neighbors, including many student’s families, continue to struggle to put food on the table. The Tyler Pantry Raid is an excellent and unique fundraiser we look forward to each year.”

According to the ETFB, one school has not been declared a winner for the last few years because the raid is a combined effort by both schools. Both schools are winners for helping to fight hunger and feed hope, the food bank said.

Online donations can be made at tylerpantryraid.com.

Monetary donations will support ETFB’s programs that serve Tyler ISD students, such as the BackPack Program. More than 10,000 East Texas children receive BackPacks every weekend filled with nutritious, kid-friendly food to help last them until Monday morning.