If you participated in Cans Around the Oval 2009, please fill out this survey to let us know how you thought everything went!

Calendar of Events

Donate to the Food Bank on Behalf of Cans Around the Oval 

Cans Around the Oval is a Colorado State University tradition, where students, faculty, and staff partner with community members, local media, and area businesses to raise awareness about the facts surrounding the issue of hunger, as well as raise food and monetary donations. This event is Larimer County's largest single-day food drive.  Watch this video for an in depth perspective of the amazing impact of Cans Around the Oval.

Questions, comments or concerns?  E-mail: keith.colton@colostate.edu

Phone: 970-491-3579 or just come by and visit the SLiCE office. 

Fighting Hunger - Activism in action

For more information on hunger, poverty and what work is being done here and around the globe, please visit our Hunger Awareness Links page.

With its variety  of programs, the Food Bank for Larimer County fights hunger in our own community every day.  By joining the cans team through donating cans, collecting canned food, or even contributing what you can financially, you are making a difference in the lives of thousands of Larimer County residents.

The Food Bank for Larimer County distributed over 6 Million pounds of food to Larimer County residents alone in 2008.  For a better understanding how hunger affects us locally, please check out the Food Bank's Hunger Facts.

In 1987, a senior CSU PR student interviewed Sandy Bowden, the founder and first Director of the Food Bank for Larimer County as part of a class assignment. In the interview, Sandy spun the idea of circling the Oval with canned food as a way to promote a campus food drive.  In her paper, the student coined the name "Cans Around the Oval."

At the time of her graduation, the student handed the paper over to the ASCSU Community Services Office.  The Director read her short paper and agreed that it was a great idea.  CSU contacted the Food Bank and they decided to partner on the project. The first year, Fall of 1987, the event raised only enough food to circle the Oval one time by placing the cans about 1 foot apart!  Over the years, as the event grew, more and more cans were collected and the oval was circled with cans 3-4 times. 

Since that time, Cans has grown in scope and impact, involving more groups and collecting more food each year. The Office for Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement (SLiCE) now sponsors Cans Around the Oval. In 2006, close to 150 unique groups were involved and the 140,000 pounds of food collected could have circled the Oval over 65 times!  In 2008 the focused shifted slightly to help the Food Bank raise more monetary donations, because money can be stretched so much further and provides even more meals than actual food donations.  Last year $25,000 was raised, the most financial donations in Cans history.