The teams for Super Bowl LV (55 for those that don’t read Roman numerals!) have been set and the countdown for the February 7th game is on!  While we’re excited to have some normalcy in our lives by spending a Sunday evening watching NFL football, we realize that due to the pandemic and the economic shutdowns that have occurred throughout the country, many people are hurting financially and might not be able to afford even the basic necessities. The demand on food shelters has more than doubled since March 2020.

In these trying times, with so many people not able to get all of the food they need, it’s important, now, more than ever to help out our neighbors. We want to challenge our readers to find a local event to support that raises money or gathers food for those who find themselves in need. For the next two weeks, buy a few extra cans of food to donate to a local food shelter, participate in a food drive, or volunteer at a community kitchen. Are you having a super bowl party in your home? Invite everyone who comes to bring canned goods to donate to your local food pantry. We’d love to see how you met this challenge!

Some suggestions for this to be successful:
Experience has shown us that people are willing to give and to help collect items for food banks. Most people don’t give because they aren’t asked. Please help out the community and run your own drive for this Souper Bowl.

• Tell your employees and your community to help by dropping food items at a Souper Bowl display in your lobby or business.
• Post online links that are available to share online.
• Provide a way for people to donate online.  

Food pantries and shelters are often asked what they need most. Below is a list of most requested items.

Foods (in-date!)

• Applesauce
• Canned Beans
• Canned Chicken
• Canned Fish (Tuna and Salmon)
• Canned Meat (SPAM and Ham)
• Canned Vegetables
• Cooking Oils (Olive and Canola)
• Crackers
• Dried Herbs and Spices
• Fruit (Canned or Dried)
• Granola Bars
• Instant Mashed Potatoes
• Meals in a Box
• Nuts
• Pasta and pasta sauce (NOT in glass containers!)
• Peanut Butter
• Rice
• Shelf-stable and Powdered Milk
• Soup, Stew and Chili
• Whole Grain Cereal

Other Important Items

• General hygiene items (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, toilet paper, baby wipes)
• Feminine hygiene items
• Laundry detergent (pods are helpful - portable and small)
• Paper products (plates, paper towels, forks and spoons)
• Pet food
• Baby diapers

Highlighted Events

WTE Solutions Souper Bowl Party
WTE Solutions is proud to host an event they are calling the Souper Bowl Party. They will be collecting much needed food for residents who live near their community and encouraging others across the nation to do the same.  WTE is working with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. For those not in NC, they are working with Feeding America. Our partners make it easy to support this wonderful charity endeavor!


BSA Troop 327 Cardboard City
For the past four years, Boy Scout Troop 327 in Sherrills Ford, NC has been holding an event called Cardboard City. The event is designed to bring attention to homelessness, to raise money for a local women’s shelter, and to gather resources for the community local food pantry. The Scouts camp out for the night in cardboard box shelters they construct themselves and with only a sleeping bag to keep them warm. They raise funds to donate to the charities by signing up sponsors to donate, and invite the local community to bring food for the food pantry. The Troop intentionally chose January for this event to be a more realistic representation of what it might be like to be homeless by enduring the cold weather. In each of the last four years they have raised at least $1000 and gathered about 500 pounds of food!