Castle of Cans Returns to Oktoberfest
Students from thirteen area schools- elementary through college- are beginning to collect cans of food for the twelfth annual Castle of Cans Food Drive, a part of Hickory’s Oktoberfest celebration.
Students will collect food for area food pantries and soup kitchens. The cans will be used to build a castle in the KidsFest area on October 9th.
Members of the community are asked to participate by bringing canned food to the castle site on October 9th or 10th or dropping it off at one of the participating schools by October 1st. Parents of students in these schools are asked to help their students be a part of this worthy drive.
Participating schools are Startown Elementary, Maiden Elementary, H. M. Arndt Middle, Grandview Middle, Maiden Middle, Northview Middle, Newton-Conover High, Fred T. Foard High, Hickory High, Maiden High, St. Stephens High, Catawba Valley Community College and Lenoir-Rhyne University.
Boy Scout Troop 903 will build the castle on Saturday morning, October 9th. United Beverage will provide flats to help in the construction of the castle. On Sunday afternoon, residents of Flynn Christian Home will dismantle the castle and load the food unto trucks.
Papa John’s Pizza and Chic-fil-A provide rewards and incentives for the students. Second Harvest Food Bank provides transportation that includes providing boxes and bins, collecting the food, and storing it at their facility before and after the castle is built.
After Oktoberfest, the food will be distributed to The Corner Table of Newton, Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministries (ECCCM), Exodus Homes, The Family Care Center, Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry (CCM), The Hickory Soup Kitchen and The Salvation Army.
In 2008, over ten tons of food was collected, but last year’s collection was not as successful. With the current state of the economy, more help is needed. Food pantries and soup kitchens are running low on food. The soup kitchens have reported that they are serving over twice as many meals as in the past and the food pantries are experiencing the same increase.
All types of canned food are needed. Cans with pop-tops are suggested for the homeless and the large #10-size cans found in most grocery stores are used by the two soup kitchens.
The castle serves as a visible symbol of the community’s concern with hunger. Please help fight hunger in Catawba County by helping to build a Castle of Cans- A Castle of Caring.
