The Student Leadership, Involvement, and Community Engagement office, the team behind C.A.N.S Around The Oval, photographed by Calvin Masten, Sept. 24.
Calvin Masten
The Ramspondents
It’s time to start can-tributing.
“Cash and Nutritious Staples,” also known as C.A.N.S. Around The Oval program is a Colorado State University tradition that runs from Sept. 19th to Oct. 19th. It can be found all around CSU’s campus.
What is C.A.N.S Around The Oval?
C.A.N.S Around The Oval is a campus-wide initiative backed by the Food Bank for Larimer County and the Student Leadership, Involvement, and Community Engagement office. They bring awareness to food insecurity and raise food and funds for the aforementioned food banks.
To encourage community members to donate, CSU colleges and departments or student organizations will hold a friendly competition to see who can donate more. For instance, the College of Liberal Arts and Walter Scott College of Engineering will be competing this year to see which department can donate more, and the loser’s dean will have to wear a shirt of their rival’s college.
C.A.N.S Around The Oval’s goal this year is to raise $60,000, collect 18,000 pounds of non-perishable and nutritious foods, and provide education on food insecurity, food systems, and other needs.
The History of C.A.N.S Around the Oval
The CSU tradition started in 1986. The Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement office, then called the Office of Community Services, consisted of only four students.
One of these students, Victoria Keller, was inspired by a journalism student’s proposed canned food drive and reached out to the Food Bank for Larimer County to make her vision a reality.
Keller and two other students would run the drive in its first year, a fraction of how large the tradition would grow to be. Two years later, Keller would turn the Office of Community Services into a student-fee-funded office.
How You Can Can-tribute
C.A.N.S Around The Oval encourages friendly competition to bring the best out of people, and encourage individuals and groups to donate. Donations can be either financial or monetary.
Financial donations are encouraged and can be made on the C.A.N.S Around The Oval website, which can be found here. Physical, monetary donations can still be made on Oct. 19th. The SLiCE office, located in the Lory Student Center, will be accepting donations from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, as well as a drop-off location in The Oval from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.
After all, it wouldn’t be C.A.N.S Around The Oval if you couldn’t bring your cans to The Oval.
One dollar donated equals two meals of food that the Food Bank of Larimer County will be able to provide to those in need.
Along with accepting donations, C.A.N.S Around The Oval will be hosting “CANversations about food” on Sept. 20th and 28th, as well as Oct. 6th, 13th, and 18th. These speeches are meant to educate the masses on food insecurity and similar topics, and will be held in the Lory Student Center.
The Food Bank for Larimer County is always accepting volunteers. Information regarding how to volunteer can be found here. All other information regarding C.A.N.S Around The Oval can be found in their section on the Lory Student Center website, or here.
How will you can-tribute?
Calvin Masten is a third-year Journalism and Media Communication major and Sociology minor at Colorado State University. His fondness for interpersonal stories and human connections drives his enjoyment of writing, editing, and filming.
Linden Street closing to cars Oct. 3
Silas Rogers
The Ramspondents
From 5 p.m to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3, the 200 block of Linden Street will close to vehicle traffic. The pedestrian-only zone will include the area between Walnut Street and Jefferson Street. This will allow First Friday events such as live music, sidewalk vendors, and a skateboard expo to take place safely. For more information, go to the City of Fort Collins website.
CSU senior Silas Rogers explores the new field with a background in creative writing and visual arts.