CALUMET -- Nearly 2,000 pounds of food were collected and donated through the TV6 Canathon efforts in the Copper Country Monday.

It was the first pick-up day for our Canathon partner, Eagle Radio, who sent a team to local schools and businesses.

Once again students at Washington Middle School, as well as their classmates at Calumet Elementary School, have shown their generosity through boxes and bags filled with pounds of donated canned goods.

But it's the students from Lake Linden who've made a name for themselves as Canathon champs, donating about half of the food that filled the Eagle Radio collection trailer today.

"We did really well,” said Lake Linden senior Kim Outinen.  “We got over 1,000 pounds of cans and all the kids brought in a lot, so it worked well."

The trailer also made its way to local grocery stores including Louie’s Super Foods, and the team picked up a different kind of donation from the owner of Pat's Foods in Calumet.

"Each facility asked customers at the end of their purchase if they would like to round up their change for local food pantries,” said co-owner Ben Campioni.  “We raised $5,200."

The last stop of the day was the food pantry at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Calumet.  The pantry's directors were more than happy to help as the team unloaded all of the day’s donations.

"It’s a big help,” said Joanne Pacciano.  “These donations will probably last us into March, and with Christmas coming we've filled a lot of bags.  We've been really, really busy."

The Eagle Radio trailer hits the road again Tuesday.  They'll be collecting donations from the remaining schools and businesses in Houghton County before heading to Baraga on Wednesday.