What began as a simple idea to connect with students has now grown into a community-wide effort, as the first-ever Cram the Cruiser event brought in thousands of snack donations Saturday, March 28, at the Fred Meyer parking lot in Battle Ground.
Hosted by the Battle Ground Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the event invited community members to donate non-perishable snack items directly into patrol vehicles.
By the end of the four-hour snack drive, organizers from Battle Ground Education Foundation supporting the inaugural event reported 8,422 snacks and $536.20 in cash donations, all of which will go toward stocking student snack pantries at Battle Ground and Prairie high schools.
The event builds on a program that started at Battle Ground High School, where School Resource Officer Phil Anderson began offering snacks to students out of his own pocket. That small gesture grew into the “Tiger’s Table,” a dedicated pantry that now serves students daily, both as a food resource and a place to connect. A similar effort has since taken root at Prairie High School through the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Saturday’s turnout exceeded expectations almost immediately.
“The thought was, we’re going to put some of the food items in the back of my patrol car,” Anderson said. “Official start time was 11 a.m., and by 11:15, the back of the cruiser was full to the point of overflowing.”
“The smiling faces, the encouragement that we’re seeing from the community, it’s been overwhelming,” he added. “It’s been wonderful.”
Donations continued to pour in throughout the day, with volunteers and officers working to sort and track the growing supply. By early afternoon, hundreds of individual items had already been counted, with totals climbing steadily.
For Clark County Sheriff’s Office SRO Chelsea Quiggle, stationed at Prairie High School, the event comes at a critical time. She said her school’s pantry has seen a surge in demand in recent weeks, with students frequently stopping by not just for food but for conversation.
“Within five minutes of sharing that I had food, I had multiple kids coming in, and now it’s just a revolving door of kids popping in, saying hi and asking for a snack and then hanging out for a few minutes,” Quiggle said. “It’s just been really, really cool.”
Organizers say the need for consistent supplies has been a challenge, especially as more students rely on the pantries during the school day. Saturday’s donations are expected to help stabilize those efforts.
“There have been times in the last two weeks when the cabinet is pretty much empty,” Anderson said. “We need to restock it … and this is going to be amazing.”
Officers and volunteers also received larger food items, such as boxed meals. These items will be directed to a separate family support program at Battle Ground High School, helping extend the impact beyond individual students.
Members of Pacific Youth Cheerleading attended to encourage donations and show support for the initiative. Pacific Youth Cheerleading founder Megan Torneby, who is also head coach of Battle Ground High School’s cheerleading program, stressed the importance of Anderson’s presence on campus.
“It’s been amazing,” Torneby said. “Officer Anderson is an amazing resource for a lot of my athletes at the high school level, and we have our youth kiddos here today trying to support as well. We just absolutely love what they’re doing here.”
