SANTA
ROSA, February 3, 2010 - Contenders in the second
annual Can Creation competition at Coddingtown Mall will
start sculpting their canned art projects this weekend,
an effort that will continue to fill the shelves with canned
food items at the Redwood Empire Food Bank.
The sculptures will be on display Saturday, Feb. 8, throughout
the mall and remain in place through Saturday, Feb. 20. Awards
will be announced Saturday, Feb. 13.
At the conclusion of the event the thousands
of cans representing this philanthropic art will be trucked
to the Food Bank's warehouse in Santa Rosa and added to the
178,000 lbs. of food donated to the food bank during the
annual, three-month long Winter Food and Funds Drive which
ended last weekend.
The annual program, held in conjunction with National Canned
Food Month, is a collaborative of Coddingtown Mall, the Northcoast
Region of the Network for a Healthy California, and the Redwood
Empire Food Bank, which provides nutritious food to more
than 70,000 people every month.
The program is designed to raise awareness of the extent
of hunger in Sonoma County and how to eat a healthy diet
on a very limited budget.
This year's contestants include the City of
Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Family YMCA, St. Joseph's Health
Systems, and Whole Foods. They will be building sculptures
over the weekend and competing for awards for Most Cans,
Most Original Design, and Healthiest Meal. There also will
be a People's Choice Award based on votes cast by shoppers
during the week.
The awards will be announced during an 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. program
that will include demonstrations by children preparing tasty
meals from canned food, information on how to eat a healthy
diet on a limited budget, children's games, and other information
on the impact of hunger on Sonoma County residents.
The program will include free samples of tasty food prepared
by Press Democrat columnist and cook book author Michelle
Anna Jordan and Max Cafe owner and Chef Arturo Gonzales.
The REFB is the largest food bank on the Northern California
coast from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border. Working
with 146 partner agencies, the REFB provides food to 70,000
people a month in Sonoma County alone. It also is the primary
source for food for pantries in Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt
and Del Norte counties.
For more information on the REFB and its programs, contact
David Goodman, Executive Director, 707-523-7900.
For more information on the Can Creation program,
call Angie Corwin, project coordinator and Retail Program
Specialist for the Network for a Healthy California,
707-543-5810 Ext. 201.
The northcoast regional office of Network for a Healthy California
represents Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake, Del Norte and Humboldt
counties. |
