Atglen knocked the Battle of the Boroughs food drive out of the park.

In the second year of the friendly food drive competition between the three boroughs of Atglen, Parkesburg and Christiana, Atglen came out on top. However, the real winner was the Octorara Area Food Cupboard (OAFC), for which a grand total of 7,067 pounds of food was collected throughout the event.

Atglen's final tally of 2,747 pounds was enough to secure the victory. The drive started on June 24 and ran through Aug. 4, which doubled as National Night Out. Residents of each borough dropped off food at designated locations, and then each borough took food into the OAFC and had it weighed every week.

Each borough has one individual designated as its battle leader. April Brade fills that role for Parkesburg, while Jennifer Grossman reprises her role for Atglen's Parks and Recreation Committee. Christiana's leadership has changed hands this year, going from the Parks and Recreation Committee to the borough itself, with administrative assistant Jennifer Semple taking over as battle leader.

This year's total of 7,067 pounds is a great increase from last year's figure of 5,654.

"I was shocked at how well the food drive went based on the amount of donations we received," Grossman said. "Everybody was very generous with giving this year, and it showed."

This year, Christiana and Parkesburg finished with 2,439 and 1,881 pounds, respectively. Parkesburg won the inaugural drive last year, leading the way with 2,141 pounds, while Atglen and Christiana tallied 1,859 and 1,654 pounds, respectively.

Atglen got creative with its effort this year. Each year, the borough receives tickets from the Lancaster Stormers to use however it pleases. This year, the borough ran a promotion where bringing in five nonperishable food items granted residents two tickets to the team's Aug. 8 game against the High Point Rockers. Also, if you donated food at the borough hall, Atglen entered you into a drawing to win various merchandise left over from the borough's 150th anniversary celebration.

"We were trying to entice people to be a little bit more generous in donating," Grossman said. "Christiana actually offered a bunch of things too. ... They offered Rita's gift cards and popcorn."

This year, Christiana got off to a slow start but managed to gather nearly 2,000 pounds of food in the final two weeks of the drive, vaulting into second place. Atglen led early, but Parkesburg overtook Atglen for the majority of the drive. The Stormers promotion helped Atglen dash to the finish line.

New for this year's drive, Atglen will be the first formal recipient of the drive's travelling trophy. Currently sitting in Christiana borough hall, the trophy will be formally presented to Atglen at the borough's next council meeting in September.

The drive started last year as Brade's brainchild. After garnering support from Parkesburg Borough, she went to parks and recreation meetings in both Atglen and Christiana to convince borough leadership to support the drive.

The battle leaders stressed that support for the OAFC needs to continue throughout the fall and winter months. For more information about the cupboard, located at 714 Main St., Parkesburg, visit http://www.octfood.com/donations or call 610-857-4000.

"It's fun to have a little competition, but knowing that the real winner is the food bank is the highlight of the whole mission," Grossman said. "It's just great to be able to fill the shelves at the food bank during a time of need."