MOSES LAKE - Employees at CHS Sun Basin Growers recently gave Basin food banks a helping hand.

The region's unit of CHS Inc. accumulated an estimated 710,902 pounds of food and raised about $9,518 during its 20-day Harvest for Hunger campaign. Sun Basin Growers has operations in Moses Lake, Royal City, Quincy, Bruce and Kennewick.

Most of the food went to food banks in and around those communities, said Dave Bewick, of Sun Basin Growers. Some of the food was also delivered to organizations in Spokane and Pasco, he said.

Bewick said CHS locations across the country participate in the annual Harvest for Hunger campaign. Employees at each location work to gather funds and food to be delivered to regional food banks, he said.

This year's campaign was held March 1 through March 20. The goal of the campaign is to raise more than 2 million meals for families in need, according to the Harvest for Hunger website.

Bewick said $1 equals one meal and one pound of food equals one meal.

"It's a combination of food and funds," he said.

Nationally, CHS raised about 3.2 million meals, a 30 percent increase from 2012, according to a CHS news release.

"Locally we produced more than 6,500 meals per full-time employee," Bewick said. CHS Sun Basin employees about 115 people, he said.

He said Sun Basin Growers was the top contributor to the national campaign this year. A CHS unit in North Dakota brought in 4,200 meals per full-time employee, according to the Harvest for Hunger website.

Sun Basin Growers also brought in the most food and funds in 2012, Bewick said.

"This is the second year in a row our team won, and we're very proud," he said. "For winning, we received $400 per full-time employee, which goes back to our local food banks."

The CHS contribution came out to $46,000, which added to the $9,518 Sun Basin Growers accumulated, he said.

Sun Basin Growers was able to donate $55,518 to food banks in Moses Lake, Quincy, Royal City, Ephrata, Soap Lake, Othello and Mattawa. Second Harvest in Spokane and Pasco also received a portion of the funding, he said.

The Quincy Food Bank received about $11,500 and the Royal City Food Bank received an estimated $4,600. The food banks in Ephrata, Soap Lake, Othello and Mattawa each received $3,450 in funds from Sun Basin Growers.

The Moses Lake Food Bank received a check for $16,544. Operations Manager Peny Archer said the food and funds will go a long way.

"This will help a lot of people," she said.

The Moses Lake Food Bank provides food for people in need in Moses Lake. The facility is also a distribution center for other food banks in Grant, Adams and Lincoln counties, according to their website.