Missouri 4-H clubs, in partnership with Feeding Missouri, held a statewide food drive in February.
Cole and Moniteau county club members, along with the rest of the state, engaged in the friendly competition to see which clubs could contribute the most.
The goal for the first-time statewide food drive was to provide 1 million meals through volunteer work, food and monetary donations.
Six major food banks form the Feeding Missouri coalition which works to provide hunger relief to every county in the state.
"I think it helps them realize ways to contribute to their community and giving to people in need," said Elaine Anderson, 4-H specialist for Moniteau, Morgan and Cooper counties.
The Stringtown Corinth 4-H held a non-perishable food drive. Club leader Janice Loesch said the 40 members collected 42 pounds of canned goods. Around 9 pounds of rice, beans and other dry foods were collected.
"We have club members who do struggle with food sometimes, and now, they're in a position where they can pay it forward," Loesch said.
The Osage Bend Clover Leafs 4-H Club collected 4.5 pounds of food in Cole County. Moniteau County's Shamrock Club collected 20 pounds and Twin Cities 4-H collected more than 72 pounds.
"All the food that is collected in the county, if they have a food pantry in that county, it stays in that county," Anderson said.
Due to winter weather delays, the competition deadline was extended to Monday. At the end of the fourth week, a total of 38,885 meals were collected to feed the hungry in Missouri.