Boxes of canned goods and other food items partially fill the lobby of Brown Elementary School as students and staff members collect food for its annual Souper Bowl of Caring. Last year, Brown students donated 2,678 items. The goal was to collect 2,700 items this year but Brown students and staff members surpassed that, collecting more than 3,000 items.
During the weeks and days leading to the National Football League Super Bowl on February 5, youth who participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring gather food to fight hunger in their own communities. All of Brown’s donations will go to The Emergency Assistance Ministry (TEAM) in Florissant.
“We recognize the need is here in our community, especially during the winter months, and that by donating food, we are possibly helping family members in the Hazelwood School District,” said fourth grade teacher Dawn Probst.
“The class with the most donations will receive a pizza party,” said Probst, who with fifth grade teacher Pete Kain, co-sponsor Operation Cheer-Up, a community service group at Brown that coordinates the Souper Bowl of Caring, among other activities.
In 2011, more than 260,000 youth participated in Souper Bowl of Caring, collecting more than $9.5 million in dollars and food for local hunger-relief charities. That’s a total of more than $81 million collected since the movement began in 1990. This year’s goal is to empower 275,000 young people to collect $11 million for charities in their communities.