Anyone can win it, but few gain the prize
It took nearly a year for Dave Krier to win the award he had created.
“I’ve only won once,” he said.
Like many of the best traditions, the Blue Banana Award (BBA) mixes humor, fun and a little bit of randomness into something with a life of its own.
It began when food pantry volunteer Krier 3D-printed a trophy displaying a blue banana, with indecipherable attempts at letters on the stand.
“That was where I figured out how to put lettering on a trophy,” he said.
On his next attempt, the same trophy came out with the word “Winner!!!” printed on the bottom.
“I’m a motorcycle-loving fool. But there is nothing more gratifying than volunteering at the food pantry,” Krier said. “It truly gives me joy.”
Along with a group of about 15 other volunteers at the Gilmer County Food Pantry (GCFP), Krier decided that the trophy would be awarded to the one who guessed closest to the number of families dropping by for food each Wednesday.
On a typical Wednesday, about 90 families use the food bank.
This decision turned an informal competition into an intense weekly event.
“It’s definitely bragging rights,” he said.
From 9 a.m. to 12:45 pm Wednesday when the food pantry is open to the public, participants wait with bated breath to see who wins the BBA.
Immediately, the award sparked “constant” competition.
“If it’s someone that I for sure want to beat, I’m gonna pick the number either right before or right after,” Krier said.
Depending on the time of the month, the weather and other factors, they would try to calculate how many people would show up in advance.
Although a win at this competition sounds like the result of sheer chance, some volunteers seem more skilled (or luckier) than others, Krier said.
Volunteer Anthony Watkins took the trophy home with him after winning it.
“He took pictures of it snuggling with him on a couch. He had it in bed with him with a blanket over it,” Krier said.
The efforts of volunteers like BBA winners Krier, Watkins and others help feed those who qualify for the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program, as well as others in need.
During COVID-19, 75 percent of GCFP’s volunteers quit, Executive Director Allen Triebel said.
“We almost closed because of that,” he said.
Those who have stayed had to “triage” to keep the organization functioning, he said.
This year, the food pantry gave out more than 400,000 pounds of food.
“If the government had as little waste as we do, we would have a balanced budget,” Triebel said.
Although silly games and camaraderie can help make volunteering entertaining, its meaning goes far deeper, Krier said.
“The look on an 82-year-old man’s face who tells us he has not heard ‘Happy Birthday’ in 30 years, yet he is sticking his fingers in his ears so he doesn’t hear it is one of the most gratifying things that I get to do.”