GOLDEN VALLEY, MN--(Marketwired - Dec 2, 2014) - Minnesotans donated more than 1.4 million pounds of food to the 2nd annual KARE 11 Food Fight.

The KARE 11 Food Fight is a collaborative one-day food and fund drive created by Twin Cities NBC affiliate KARE 11 and partner C.H. Robinson to benefit Second Harvest Heartland. The 1,429,767 pounds of donated food is a 66% increase over last year's total of 861,104 pounds. It also set a new record for Second Harvest Heartland for a single-day food/fund drive.

KARE 11 President and General Manager John Remes said, "We're overwhelmed by the generosity of communities and businesses from across Minnesota. The outpouring of energy and support by donors and volunteers is an inspirational reminder that Minnesotans don't sit on the side-lines, but are eager to get out and actively give back to their community. We at KARE 11 want to thank everyone that braved the cold temperatures to help fight hunger."

The Food Fight took place on Tuesday, Nov. 25th from 7:30 a.m. - 7 p.m., and pitted four KARE 11 anchors -- Belinda Jensen, Julie Nelson, Eric Perkins and Randy Shaver -- against each other in a friendly competition to see who could gather the most donations. Each team made extensive use of social media to gather support for the drive from volunteers, local companies, and viewers. The community resoundingly answered that call.

Here are the total collections by team for the KARE 11 Food Fight:

  • Belinda Jensen's team (#TeamBel), located at Kowalski's in Woodbury - 496,749 pounds of food.

  • Randy Shaver's team (#TeamRandy), located at Whole Foods in Maple Grove - 357,171 pounds of food.

  • Erik Perkins' team (#TeamPerk), located at Cub Foods at Eagan Town Centre - 340,562 pounds of food.

  • Julie Nelson's team (#TeamJulie), located at Byerly's at Ridgedale - 235,285 pounds of food

After all was said and done, Minnesota's Own KARE 11 and its sponsors, volunteers, and incredible donations from the public helped provide over 1.1 million meals to the community.

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