EASLEY — The sixth annual Meals on Wheels Sam Wyche Food Fight Bowl, presented by Save-A-Lot for the second year in a row, will take place Friday, Aug. 23, at Easley High School.

The game will act as the 2013 season opener for rivals Pickens and Easley on the high school gridiron.

An avid football fan, Dwayne Goodwin, president and CEO of the Goodwin Holdings Group, said he is “pumped up” about supporting the largest fundraising event for Pickens County Meals on Wheels for a second consecutive year.

“My daughter is a 2013 Easley High graduate,” Goodwin said. “I take great pride in operating a Save-A-Lot store in Pickens, where we offer quality foods and customer savings to both the Pickens and Easley communities.”

On the night of the big game, Pickens and Easley will take the field and compete for ownership of the coveted Food Fight Bowl trophy, where Easley is tasked with continuing its two-year winning streak in the rivalry. Pickens holds a 3-2 series advantage since the game became the Food Fight Bowl in 2008.

The Food Fight Bowl trophy was designed to inspire each team to have a special reward in a game that has been a classic rivalry since 1923, when Easley won the very first meeting by a score of 7-6. The top of the trophy was taken off Sam Wyche’s 1988 NFL Coach of the Year trophy and placed on a new base, becoming the rotating Meals on Wheels Food Fight Bowl trophy.

The prestigious “Timmy Award” was given to Wyche by the Washington Touchdown Club for his Cincinnati Bengals’ 14-win season and representing the AFC in Super Bowl XXIII vs. the San Francisco 49ers.

In the weeks leading up to the game, students from both high schools are also vying for the rotating Ultimate Food Fight trophy by raising funds for Pickens County Meals on Wheels. The trophy and bragging rights are awarded to the school that raises the most money. Pickens High has a 4-0-1 record in fundraising and has proven tough competition for Easley off the field.

At halftime of the game, Grasshopper Mowers will race down the field, revealing the winner of the 2013 Ultimate Food Fight.

In five years, the students from both student bodies have raised a combined total of $126,934 for Pickens County Meals on Wheels, the equivalent of 25,386 meals.

To assist the students in their fundraising efforts, the Save-A-Lot store in Pickens will host an in-store challenge from Aug. 1 until Aug. 23. During this time, the public can support its favorite team by purchasing $1 pin-ups in support of either Pickens or Easley. In addition to Save-A-Lot’s hot summer savings, this special fundraising challenge provides an opportunity for each school to maximize its fundraising efforts during their final push leading up to the game.

In its sixth year, the Food Fight Bowl has become an event that reminds local residents about the important role Meals on Wheels, and its team of caring volunteers, plays in the communities across Pickens County.

Gold sponsors McKinney Dodge, South Carolina Bank and Trust, Reliable Automatic Sprinkler and the Fee family are proud to give back to the communities in which they operate by supporting the students of Easley and Pickens as they rally the community in support of homebound elderly and disabled citizens.

“Meals on Wheels clients are from generations that have shaped who we are today: our grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, veterans, and neighbors. All have experienced a significant decline in their health, their independence, and their ability to perform the most basic daily activities,” said Pickens County Meals on Wheels executive director Meta Bowers. “So on Aug. 23, when you watch Easley and Pickens fighting it out on the gridiron, not only are they fighting to defeat their archrival, they are also fighting for an extraordinary cause — the battle against hunger and loneliness in Pickens County.”

Supporting the students and Meals on Wheels is simple:

• Support student-sponsored events and fundraising efforts throughout the summer.

• Organize a “Brown Bag Lunch” at your workplace. Pick any day between now and Aug. 16 to bring your lunch to work in lieu of eating out. Contribute the money you would have spent dining out to Pickens County Meals on Wheels in support of your favorite team.

• Support your team through the Pickens Save-A-Lot Store’s $1 pin-up challenge from Aug. 1 through Aug. 23.

• Sponsor a Senior: $5 for one meal, $20 for a week, $100 for a month, or $1,200 for a year.

Pickens County Meals on Wheels is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, charitable organization funded completely through grants and donations from individuals, churches, church organizations, businesses, civic groups and the United Way. The organization does not seek or receive any state or federal funding and relies entirely on the generosity of the community it serves.

Those interested can support their favorite team and Pickens County seniors by making a donation online at www.pcmow.org, or mailing a check to Pickens County Meals on Wheels P.O. Box 184 Easley, SC 29641. Please call Meta Bowers at 855-3770 ext. 303 with any questions.