A super, Souper start to battling hunger
By: By BERTRAM RANTIN
Published: Wed, 02/15 @ 12:00AM
The number is $7.4 million and counting.
That’s the amount Souper Bowl of Caring officials say has been raised in financial donations and food contributions since this year’s nationwide battle against hunger.
In the nine days since the Super Bowl, more than 6,850 groups have reported combined collections of $7.4 million from churches and other groups nationwide by Tuesday. That was encouraging news to organizers of the Columbia-born charity, which has raised more than $81 million for since it was launched in 1990.
Each year on Super Bowl Sunday, church youth groups and other organizations collect money and food at their places of worship or elsewhere in their communities. The donations go to local food banks, pantries and other hunger-relief agencies in those communities. Groups are asked to report their collection amounts to be included in the combined total.
Charity leaders are optimistic of reaching or surpassing last year’s $9 million total based on early reporting, noting totals come in throughout the year and typically peak in April.
“Souper Bowl of Caring has always been grass roots, but this year we heard from more people across the country who showed unbridled enthusiasm for the cause,” said Souper Bowl of Caring president and CEO Tracy Bender.
While the effort was born in the church, Bender said about 20 percent of participants now come from schools, Scouting troops, businesses and other organizations.
“While the number of people who are hungry continues to rise, Souper Bowl of Caring has responded with an increase in the number of people hungry to help,” she said.
Since it begin, the Souper Bowl of Caring has continued to gain national prominence and now has field directors in five NFL cities — Charlotte, Jacksonville, Houston, Dallas and Indianapolis — with plans to add another site in New Orleans next year.
But Bender said one of the more encouraging aspects is the support of youths nationwide.
“It was so fun to talk with ordinary people in places like Odgen, Utah; Macon, Ga., and Chicopee, Mass., who are making an extraordinary difference through Souper Bowl of Caring,” she said.
Hammond School senior Emily Bakhaus, a member of the Souper Bowl of Caring National Youth Advisory Board, said the many small donations are what have made the $7.5 million figure possible.
“Everyone can just bring a dollar or a can,” she said. “Every chunk of that counts.”
All funds collected during the drive go to local charities, and none is used for administrative costs. For more information or to support the Souper Bowl of Caring, visit www.souperbowl.org.
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