CSU’s annual food drive, Cans Around the Oval, launches for the 32nd time, benefiting the Food Bank for Larimer County.
It concludes on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 4 p.m., with the food bank’s largest single-day collection event.
Cans Around the Oval is a CSU tradition in which students, faculty and staff partner with community members, local media and area businesses to raise awareness about hunger as well as food and monetary donations. Every $1 donated can be stretched by the food bank into $5 worth of food.
Opportunities to participate
During Kick-Off Week, Sept. 10-14, people can register to participate in any or all of the different parts of the event, including CANvassing, CANStruction, and CANS Collection Day. Between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement (SLiCE) office, Lory Student Center 210, people can stop by the office to ask questions, register for CANS in-person, reserve a nearby neighborhood for CANvassing, and/or pick up CANvassing materials, including collection boxes and marketing materials.
For CANvassing, registered groups or individuals will spread awareness of the event by going door-to-door to engage local neighbors, and return to neighborhoods to collect donations a few days later. CANvassing can also occur at local grocery stores, too.
For CANStruction, registered groups fill the Lory Student Center Plaza with creative sculptures built out of canned food, to highlight the social issue of food insecurity in artistic ways. This event is held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 10. Those participating are awarded 100 bonus pounds toward their collected total; and winners receive additional bonus pounds for the larger CANS Competition. Groups interested in participating can register at cans.colostate.edu.
Collection Day
Then, for CANS Collection Day on Oct. 17, participants will bring all food and monetary donations to the Oval, where they are weighed, totaled and collected by the Food Bank for Larimer County before being distributed to community members in Northern Colorado.
Considering that monetary donations go even further than cans when it comes to the food bank and those who rely on its services, this year the objective is to raise more in monetary donations than the dollar value of the donated food. The goal is to raise $65,000 and 35,000 pounds of food.
Approximately one in 10 CSU students experience food insecurity, and participating in Cans Around the Oval benefits fellow CSU community members as well as people throughout Larimer County. To learn more about the history of CANS and raising awareness about hunger, visit the SLiCE website at cans.colostate.edu.
To register for CANS, click here. Registering informs SLiCE of participation in planned events and provides the office context to better communicate with participants and recognize them for their contributions to CANS.
Questions about Cans Around the Oval can be directed to Sarah Stephens, SLiCE’s senior program coordinator, at sarah.stephens@colostate.edu, or call SLiCE at 970-491-1682.
