Colorado State University’s Annual Cans Around the Oval Celebrates 20 Years of Food-Drive Success

Cans Around the Oval, the largest food drive in Northern Colorado, will celebrate its 20th year at Colorado State University this year. Last year, more than 140,000 pounds of food were collected for the more than 40,000 people who depend upon the Food Bank for Larimer County.

The first can will be placed on the Oval at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, by Colorado State President Larry Edward Penley. The food collected at various locations and by volunteer groups will be brought to the site by volunteers throughout the day. The weight of food gathered by each group’s food drive efforts will be calculated and tallied on the Oval; various student and community groups compete for the most food.

The four-week food drive, which began Sept. 12, concludes with Cans around the Oval, when all donated food will be weighed. Cans Around the Oval kicks off by participants placing all collected canned food along the university’s historic Oval, a tradition that shows the community’s generosity.

"Cans Around the Oval is a true example of collaboration between Colorado State University and the greater Fort Collins community to achieve something positive for Larimer County," said Jen Johnson, assistant director of Colorado State’s Office of Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement, or SLiCE, the sponsoring office of the food drive. "Every year, people exceed the expectations of generosity and kindness."

"Cans Around the Oval is a community building event, and it also is an opportunity to focus on hunger," said Pam Sampson, SLiCE director. "Challenging college students, neighbors, children and others to civically engage and support this event is extremely rewarding. It is amazing to experience the gift of giving and the critical lesson of taking care of our community."

To learn more about the Food Bank for Larimer County, visit the Web at http://foodbanklarimer.org/. To learn more about the SLiCE Office, visit www.slice.colostate.edu.

For more information about the Cans Around the Oval event, contact Camille Howells at (970) 491-3579 and (970) 405-4669 the day of the event.

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