Maya Cooper / Staff Writer

     The annual Foodie Palooza fundraiser returned to the high school for another event which filled the commons.

     On Sunday, Feb. 2 from 12 p.m.-3 p.m., local business participated in the event formally known as Pizza Palooza, which began in 2017 as a way for local pizza restaurants to showcase their foods to the community. 

     This year, the event had more than just pizza. There were a variety of cuisines from all different kinds of restaurants for the attendees to enjoy.

     “We have since brought the Palooza back with this year’s event including more food varieties such as chicken sandwiches, beef kabobs, hummus, spring rolls and fried rice, pasta, tacos, doughnuts, fruit, sweets, and of course, we had to have pizza,” Gary Aleman, the organizer of the event said.

     Admission into Foodie Palooza was free with a price of $10 for 8 tickets. Each ticket could be used to try a food item from a booth or an inflatable in the lower gym. There were also other free experiences for children such as face painting and temporary tattoos.

     Junior Zowie Stanley worked at the Malley’s Chocolates booth. This is the second year Malley’s has come to Foodie Palooza, and Stanley believes they will likely return next year.

     “We had chocolate hearts and Betty Lou’s, which are pretzel caramels dipped in chocolate. We were happy with the amount of people that came to our booth, and I think it was a successful event,” Stanley said

     There were also many student volunteers who helped the event run smoothly. Some volunteers helped at different food booths to help the vendors, while others helped set up before the event and clean up after it ended.

     Junior Terah Bentley volunteered for three and a half hours. She was stationed in the lower gym.

     “I collected tickets for the kids to go on the inflatables. The kids seemed like they were having a good time, and the parents were happy” Bentley said.

     As people entered the school, they received a ticket they could use to vote for their favorite food booth.

     “The Favorite Food Winner this year went to Pancho & Lefty’s,” Aleman said.

      Additionally, guests were also presented with a brief questionnaire with questions like their zip code and how they heard about the event.

     “The most interesting was the zip code question, of course most were from Stow, but we had many come from Cuyahoga Falls, Akron and even West Akron and Portage County,” Aleman said. 

     Aleman, as well as the others who helped put the event together, were very happy with the turnout at this year’s Foodie Palooza.

     “The crowd arrived right before twelve noon and the ticket process went very well with the introduction of our new credit card readers. We are estimating anywhere from 1300 to 1700 people total including volunteers, vendors and support staff,” Aleman said.

     Foodie Palooza is expected to return to the high school again next year as Aleman’s role as part of the Stow Munroe Falls Community Foundation is to coordinate events and fundraisers. 

     “It takes months of planning for this event to go off as planned. We have follow up meetings and will coordinate with the SMF School System to reserve the Gym and Commons for next year which will be on Sunday, February 1  from 12 noon to 3 p.m.,” Aleman said.

     Next year’s event may also include some new features and improvements.

    “We are also considering adding a Judges Choice Award. We will also seek out additional seating for people eating in the cafeteria area,” Aleman said.

     Foodie Palooza is enjoyed by many because of its effect on the local community.  

     “One of the main reasons we hold the Palooza is bringing people together. There is nothing like food, a universal common thread, to bring people together to enjoy great food treats from local restaurants and to give back to the community with much needed funds that we contribute to Teacher Grants and Student Initiatives,” Aleman said.