Morganton, NC – Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023
Burke County Public Schools completed its ninth annual Souperintendent’s Souper Bowl Canned-Food Drive on Feb. 10. Last week, 47,200 pounds of food collected in the drive made its way to five local charities benefiting from the food drive: Burke United Christian Ministries, Glen Alpine United Methodist Church, East Burke Christian Ministries, Abernethy Memorial United Methodist Church in Rutherford College and East Burke High School’s own food pantry.
Burke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan said, “We are very proud of this food drive and how our students and staff get behind it to support our community. Our principals are very creative in finding ways to encourage donations, and the students love it when their principals and teachers get pies in the face, dress up like penguins or get slimed. We are happy to give back to our local food pantries to help meet the food insecurity needs of our community.”
Salem, Ray Childers, Valdese and Oak Hill collected the most food among the elementary schools and East Burke Middle topped the middle schools. Schools decorate their collection barrels, and staff, students and the community are invited to fill them with non-perishable food items. Principals also offer students incentives for meeting certain goals as the food is collected.
Schools started collecting nonperishable food items the week of Jan. 9 and continued up until the Super Bowl. The food drive has become an annual tradition, as the first one was held in 2014. After taking a year off due to COVID-19, it returned last year, and over the years, it has raised a total of 237,017 pounds of food for the community.