Colorado State’s 19th Annual Cans Around the Oval Food Drive Kicks Off Thursday with Opening Event

Cans Around the Oval, Northern Colorado’s largest food drive, will kick off its 19th year on Thursday, Sept. 14, with a special Cans Runneth Over opening event celebrated through a partnership between Colorado State University and Fort Collins-area Spoons, Soups & Salads restaurants.

Cans Around the Oval is a five-week food drive held by Colorado State’s Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement, or SLCE. The event is organized by Colorado State student volunteers. Last year, Cans Around the Oval generated more than 117,000 pounds of food the Food Bank for Larimer County.

From 3 p.m. to the close of business on Thursday, Spoons restaurants, located in Colorado State’s Lory Student Center, 118 W. Elizabeth St., and 172 N. College Ave., will donate revenue from all sales to the food drive. Cans Runneth Over raised more than $2,000 in 2005 for the food drive, an important component as a cash donation of $1 to the food bank equates to $10.20 of food for Larimer County residents. The partnership of the Cans Runneth Over opening event with Spoons, Soups & Salads is in its third year.

"Each year, Cans Around the Oval makes a tremendous difference to hundreds of people who live in our community," said Barb Kistler, director of the Student Leadership and Civic Engagement office. "Cans Around the Oval is a 19-year tradition that creates unity among the Colorado State and Fort Collins communities while fighting hunger. Colorado State students, with the support of university staff and Fort Collins residents, demonstrate the importance of giving back to their community and to society, and how the value of what one person contributes to such a cause is multiplied."

During the culmination of the food drive, all donated food is gathered around the university’s historic Oval, located north of the Administration Building on the Colorado State campus, and ceremoniously placed on the curb around the Oval. This year’s Cans Around the Oval display will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12.

Colorado State’s Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement provides leadership development, service-learning and volunteer opportunities to university students. SLCE works collaboratively with students, staff, faculty and the community to offer a broad range of service and leadership opportunities to students. Through the programs at SLCE, students can find both support and resources to graduate as engaged, active participants in their local, national and global communities. To learn more about SLCE, go to www.slce.colostate.edu or visit the SLCE office on the Colorado State campus in the Lory Student Center, Room 195.

For more information about Cans Around the Oval and Cans Runneth Over, contact Jacob Blumberg at (719) 651-8544 or via e-mail at Jacob.Blumberg@colostate.edu.

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