Mower County’s solid waste officer Jeff Weaver moves one of the pallets of donated food to the scale during the weigh-in for the County/City Employee Food Drive Friday afternoon. Jenae Hackensmith/jenae.hackensmith@austindailyherald.com

The city once again triumphed over the county in the annual City/County Employee Food Drive. But perhaps more importantly, the drive raised three times the weight as last year’s drive.

“It’s fun being the mayor of a community that cares so much and gives so much,” Mayor Tom Stiehm said.

The grand total came in at 3,187 pounds. The county had 1,934 pounds of food, while the city had 1,253 pounds.

The County/City Employee Food Drive brought in a total of 3,187 pounds of food, which was weighed Friday afternoon.

“It’s wonderful that we had this much, it really is,” said Jeff Weaver, the county’s solid waste officer. “I mean, you’re tripling last year’s.”

The results were averaged per employee, and the county had 247 employees, while the city had 134 employees. The city averaged 9.35 pounds per person, versus the county’s 7.83 pounds per person.

Last year, the city and the county collected 1,186 pounds of food and the city was the winner contributing 3.63 pounds per employee. This is the fifth year in a row the city has won the friendly competition.

“I don’t like to lose, because I’m the one who has to go present the award back to the city,” Weaver said with a laugh.

The award, a plaque that gets each year’s winner engraved on it, will get passed to the city at one of the city council meetings.

Stiehm watched the downfall of the county at the weigh-in, but said overall it wasn’t about the competition.

“It’s the community at large that is the winner,” Stiehm said. “The competition is just for fun.”

Stiehm wasn’t surprised by the increased donations. Instead, he was glad people were able to give more.

“People are giving more than ever now, so it’s a good sign,” he said. “It’s a good sign for the community.”

Stiehm also pointed out the type of food the drive receives has changed over the years.

“We have enough [food drives] that people aren’t just clearing out the cupboards, people are going and purchasing things for the food drive,” Stiehm said. “It’s good food that people can use, and it’s food that all of us go out and buy.”