On Oct. 15, Colorado State University wrapped up its 39th C.A.N.S. Around the Oval with their collection day, a day celebrating a month of education, awareness and giving back to the Larimer County community. The event is held in collaboration with the Food Bank for Larimer County, which receives the majority of the food and funds collected.
This year, C.A.N.S. Around The Oval aimed to raise $50,000 in cash donations and collect 18,000 pounds of nonperishable, nutritious food. While results have not yet been finalized for pounds of food collected, Kathryn Conrad, CSU’s senior program coordinator for Basic Needs at CSU, was excited to announce that they had reached the cash donation goal before collection day.
“Before collection day even started, we had surpassed our dollar goal on online donations, which has not happened in years, so that was really exciting,” Conrad said. “We saw cash, checks, coins coming in today, as well as additional online donations, so I expect that we are going to far surpass our dollar goal, which is cool.”
On collection day, CSU faculty members, students and volunteers from all over the community filled The Oval, unloading and weighing boxes of food donations gathered by individuals, student groups and schools throughout Fort Collins. Jacqueline Vargas Garcia, a senior studying social work who volunteered on collection day, reflected on the day so far and the importance of participating in this event.
“We just came back from picking up from three different schools,” Vargas Garcia said. “They all had a good amount of boxes, (and) they were all pretty heavy, too. I think it’s important because it’s putting information out there, not just through CSU but all the other schools around, that it’s helping our community and it’s really important not just to feed ourselves, but (to feed) others in the community.”
The Food Bank for Larimer County is part of Feeding America, a nonprofit network of over 200 food banks across the United States. Through this network’s bulk-buying power, Feeding America can purchase and distribute large amounts of food at a much lower cost per pound than typical consumers. Thanks to this partnership, every dollar donated to C.A.N.S. goes toward two meals of food that can be provided by the Food Bank for Larimer County.
“We know that basic needs are a clear component in student success. Students can focus on learning and excel in the classroom only when their basic needs are met.” -Blanche Hughes, CSU vice president for student affairs
Josh Greene, the operations director of the Food Bank for Larimer County, explained how food banks have evolved over the years, and with that, how engagement with food banks has changed as well.
“Food banks have shifted away from food drives because we don’t use canned goods as much as we used to,” Greene said. “The thing that’s been lost in raising money is that there’s not that tangible, physical engagement that people get from bringing food in and giving it to the organizations.”
Greene said the special thing about C.A.N.S. is that it strikes the perfect balance between hands-on outreach with meaningful impact.
“It’s really cool to see events like this that are able to do both: to engage the community in a tangible way, to start the conversations with kids at the schools that are bringing cans in, to start those conversations on campus (and) to have a physical presence like this — then still have a financial component.” Greene said. “We are able to leverage that money and bring in more fresh produce and things that aren’t conducive for a food drive but are still really necessary. This event is the best of both worlds, and it’s cool to see it all come together.”
This year, CSU welcomed a new Office for Basic Needs. Blanche Hughes, the vice president for student affairs at CSU, gave remarks praising the work of the food drive and the expansion of basic needs resources on campus.
“This year is particularly special as we launch the new Office for Basic Needs, building on the incredible success of the Rams Against Hunger program, which promotes food security through this event, the on-campus food pantry and the meal swipe program.” Hughes said. “We know that basic needs are a clear component in student success. Students can focus on learning and excel in the classroom only when their basic needs are met.”
The exact number of pounds per food collected is still being counted and will be announced soon, along with winners from the teams competing. There will be four winners: one for top-dollar contributor, one for top-poundage contributor, one for top-CANversation attendance and one based on overall points.
Reach Claire VanDeventer at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
