CSU Community sets record with this year’s Cans Around the Oval

Paul Donnelly

Fort Collins, CO – October 22, 2018 – The numbers are in for the annual Cans Around the Oval event and once again the CSU community has gone above and beyond to support the Food Bank for Larimer County and its hunger-relief efforts.

In addition to collecting 35,456 pounds of food, this year’s Cans Around the Oval set a record with $61,459 in monetary donations. Once sorted, the food will be distributed primarily to the Food Bank’s community partners who, in turn, will distribute it to the populations they serve. The monetary donations will be used to fund Food Bank programs like its Fresh Food Share pantries and Nutritious Kitchen, which prepares thousands of meals and snacks annually for children and seniors in the community.

“Once again, the students, faculty and staff of CSU, along with other members of the community, have exceeded our expectations,” said Food Bank for Larimer County CEO Amy Pezzani. “To be on campus and see the energy around the issue of hunger, and then to witness the generosity of giving is heartwarming. A special thank you to all at CSU who worked to make this event such a success.”

Cans Around the Oval began some 32 years ago when a CSU student interviewed Sandy Bowen, the founder of the Food Bank for Larimer County. During the conversation, the idea of a food drive that would circle the oval at CSU was discussed and the event was born. In the more than three decades since Cans Around the Oval began, it has evolved to become one of the largest food drives in the Larimer County, resulting in more than 2 million donated meals.

“We want to thank all who contributed food and monetary donations, participated in CANStruction, and volunteered at Collection Day,” said Sarah Stephens, senior program coordinator for the Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement (SLiCE) office, which leads the annual Cans efforts. “We also thank the Food Bank for Larimer County for their continued partnership and support with this program. We are so appreciative of the collective efforts and the significant donations raised to better support food insecure folks and alleviate some of the burdens experienced by these individuals in our greater community. We are so appreciative of everyone at CSU and in the community who gave generously this year.”

Congratulations to the CSU College of Business, Office of the Vice President of Research and Rocky Mountain High School for being this year’s top three donors.

Last year, during the month-long event, CSU students and faculty, local schools and members of the community donated 42,293 pounds of food and more than $56,000.

For more information about Cans Around the Oval, visit https://lsc.colostate.edu/slice/slice-engagement/cans-around-the-oval/.