Record Amount of Food Donated for 19th Annual Cans Around the Oval Food Drive

Colorado State University’s 19th annual Cans Around the Oval food drive today raised more than 136,000 pounds of nonperishable food for the Food Bank for Larimer County. Colorado State’s College of Business was the top contributor with 43,260 pounds of food.

The first can was placed on the Oval at 10 a.m. by Joyce Berry, Colorado State’s vice president for Advancement and Strategic Initiatives, Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson and Amy Pezzani, executive director of Food Bank of Larimer County. Cans Around the Oval is northern Colorado’s largest food drive, benefiting the Food Bank for Larimer County. The four-week drive began Sept. 14.

The Food Bank annually distributes more than four million pounds of food to more than 40,000 residents in the region. These residents include single-parent families, the working poor, senior citizens, youth-in-crisis, people with disabilities, the homeless and more. Nearly half of those served are children.

Cans Around the Oval continues to serve as a Colorado State tradition to raise awareness about hunger, tying together Colorado State students, faculty and staff with K-12 schools, community organizations and area businesses.

Last year, more than 117,500 pounds of food were collected for the more than 40,000 people who depend upon the Food Bank for Larimer County.

Cans Around the Oval is sponsored by the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. SLCE provides leadership development, service-learning and volunteer opportunities, and works collaboratively with students, staff, faculty and the community to offer a broad range of service and leadership opportunities for student involvement. Through the programs at SLCE, students find support and resources to graduate as engaged, active participants in their local, national and global communities.

To learn more about SLCE, visit the Web at www.slce.colostate.edu.

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