On Nov. 12, The University of Findlay’s dining service, Sodexo, will participate in Cans Across America and attempt to break the Guinness® World Record for the largest food drive by a non-charitable organization in a 24-hour period.
   
The Findlay community is invited to drop off donations of canned goods at Henderson Dining Hall, located on Frazer Street, between 7 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., or at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 218 East Sandusky St., between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.  After the items have been counted and recorded, they will be donated to Chopin Hall (Christians Helping Other People in Need) in Findlay.
   
The WFIN Phone Club with Kelly Greene will broadcast live at the campus drop-off site from 9 to 11 a.m.

Both student organizations and faculty/staff groups will compete against each other. The student organization that donates the most canned food will win a pizza and bowling party. Each student organization that donates at least 200 pounds of canned food will win either a fajita bar, Wings & Things bar or an ice cream sundae bar.

Individual faculty/staff members who donate at least 15 pounds of canned food will receive a free lunch in Henderson Dining Hall, and the cans will be counted in the team total. The winning team members, who also donate at least 15 pounds of food individually, will be entered into a grand prize drawing. Faculty/staff are divided into three teams: student services and development; academic affairs; and business affairs.
   
Local schools Wilson Vance Intermediate and Bigelow Hill Intermediate also will help with the collection effort. Wilson Vance will tie the effort to the book “The Seven Silly Eaters,” and the three classes who donate the most canned goods will earn extra recess time. At Bigelow Hill, each class that donates at least 100 cans of food will be eligible to win free pizza and a day to chew gum while in school.
   
In 2006, Cans Across America was introduced to all college campuses across the United States. In 2007, the canned goods collections fell short of the current world record of 396,832.07 pounds. The University collected 6,544 pounds of nonperishable food items and was second in the nation in the amount of donations collected. Even with this great effort, the canned goods collected supplied Chopin Hall for only five days.
   
To count toward the world-record goal, all food items must be within the expiration dates and must not be damaged. Each donated item will be recorded in a log book and witnessed by community and University representatives. Only cans collected on Nov. 12 will count toward the effort.
   
UF’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity is assisting with the food drive on campus. The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) also are helping collect donations.
   
For additional information on how you can support this event, contact David P. Harr, director of dining service, at 419-434-4542.