The University of Findlay’s 21st annual Helping Hands Food Drive collected 300,299 pounds of food for Hancock County, the university announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday, November 5. All 70 pallets of food were picked up by Garner Trucking Inc. and delivered to CHOPIN Hall to serve people in need, according to the University of Findlay Newsroom.
A total of 281 volunteers contributed a combined 684 hours to the effort, according to the University of Findlay Newsroom. Campus and community members gathered at the ceremony to recognize achievements, announce contest winners and reveal the final total — a number that pushed the university’s donations since 2006 to more than 2.6 million pounds.
“We’ve been doing this for 21 years and it’s amazing to see how the community comes together to help support people out,” David Harr, the university’s dining director, told the University of Findlay Newsroom. “It’s a community taking care of the community; they do an excellent job at that.”
McComb Middle School won the Hancock County School Competition and the Golden Can Award for the fifth consecutive year, collecting 37,145 pounds — 141.8 pounds per person — according to the University of Findlay Newsroom. Arcadia placed second in the school competition and Cory-Rawson third.
Inside the university, Student Affairs won the campus challenge with 23,073 pounds, 435 pounds per person, according to the University of Findlay Newsroom. The College of Business and Humanities placed second and ITS third, turning friendly rivalry inside Oiler Nation into truckloads of food for the county.
The can-struction contest added creativity to the collection. The Oiler Marching Band won People’s Choice, Alpha Psi Omega was named most creative, and the ASL Club collected the most poundage with a display weighing 2,311 pounds, according to the University of Findlay Newsroom.
“I am very impressed with everybody that joined in — I think it’s a huge event,” Miriam Salinas, director of CHOPIN Hall, told the University of Findlay Newsroom. “On behalf of CHOPIN Hall, we are grateful for the impact this has on those that really need it. We get to see it daily when families come in to get a box of food.”
That daily view is why the drive matters beyond its headline number. Food insecurity in Hancock County is not an event — it is a recurring need that CHOPIN Hall meets family by family, box by box. A single drive delivering 70 pallets at once gives the hall depth heading into the holiday season, when demand traditionally rises.
The drive’s longevity is part of the story, too. Twenty-one years of collecting — and more than 2.6 million pounds since 2006 — means generations of Findlay students, staff, schoolchildren and community volunteers have treated the drive as a standing commitment rather than a one-year campaign. Schools defending titles five years running do not happen without that culture.
It also works because the competition is designed to include everyone: middle schoolers hauling cans, student organizations building sculptures out of donations, campus offices racing on pounds per person, and a local trucking company donating the final mile to CHOPIN Hall. Every layer adds food, and every participant can see exactly where it goes.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the totals, winners and delivery are confirmed by the University of Findlay Newsroom. What comes next is distribution — CHOPIN Hall putting 70 pallets of food into the hands of Hancock County families — and whether next year’s 22nd drive can top 300,299 pounds.
Salinas, who told the University of Findlay Newsroom she has worked in food security for over nine years, framed the drive’s value in exactly those terms — not the ceremony, but the daily line of families at CHOPIN Hall. A drive measured in pounds is, at the distribution end, measured in boxes, meals and weeks of breathing room for households choosing between groceries and other bills.
The school competition shows how early that habit starts in Hancock County. McComb’s five straight Golden Can titles, at 141.8 pounds per person, were built by middle school students — a per-person figure far above the county school field — while Arcadia and Cory-Rawson kept the contest competitive. Those students will carry the expectation with them: in Findlay, feeding the county is something the community simply does every fall.
What happens next: CHOPIN Hall distributes the food to families it serves in Hancock County. Residents who want to learn more about the drive can find information on the university’s Helping Hands page — and the Golden Can, for now, stays with McComb Middle School for a fifth straight year.
Photo: JJonahJackalope, CC BY-SA