Eldred Students Launch “Souper Bowl” Food Drive — Friendly Competition to Fight Hunger

Eldred Junior-Senior High School and GRM Elementary are turning the Super Bowl into a chance to give back. The schools are collecting canned goods in a friendly competition running through Feb. 5.“So, Eldred's always done like some sort of food drive — like we just finished one for Thanksgiving — and we decided we need something else to get back for like the winter months,” said Tabitha Smith, one of the student organizers.Marissa Guachnauer said the friendly rivalry encourages more participation. “It gives more of like an incentive to kids and their families and like the community to give back because they have like they feel the pride of winning like the competition.”The goal is simple: help anyone in need. “We really just want to help like solve anyone's like hunger or issues that they have,” Guachnauer said.Donations can be dropped off at schools or school events like concerts and sports games. The drive has already seen a strong start — about 30 cans were collected at a recent basketball game.The students hope the project inspires more community service across the county. “Hopefully, like people want to get more involved with community service by like knowing how much they're helping people with this,” Guachnauer said.For Smith and Guachnauer, giving back comes from personal experience. “I've participated in different like community service events prior to this and I feel like some sort of like joy that comes out of it to giving back,” Smith said.