For the fourth year in a row, local government officials and their respective offices competed to see who could raise the most donations for CHOW's Thanksgiving Food Challenge.

In the Government Plaza on Hawley Street -- the State, City and County buildings tried to out-do one another for the honor of winning the Golden Yam Can from CHOW as the top donor -- and in their efforts, they raised 15,211 meals, about 700 more than last year's total.

"Hunger has no respect for people, which is why this event is so crucial, for which as we enter the season of Thanksgiving, I'm so thankful, the folks in this room came together for a common cause, to fight a common enemy, and that is incredible, and I'm honored to be a part of this," said Les Aylesworth, the Director of CHOW.

The winner for the friendly contest was "Team State", led by Fred Akshar and Assemblywoman Lupardo. Akshar spoke on behalf of the two after winning for the third year in a row.

"This of course is a friendly challenge in Government plaza, but the real winner is the community, and on behalf of all of my colleagues here today, just want to say thank you to everyone who participated, who made this a reality, the real winner are people in the community," said the Senator.