Science & Math Record Try Food Drive Hits Final Stretch

March 18, 2010
By Matthew E. Milliken
mmilliken@heraldsun.com; 419-6684

DURHAM — Reporters were visiting campus. Workers were blocking out areas of the parking lot. Donations were coming in to the Web site. And months of effort put into the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics’ food drive were approaching their culmination.

On Saturday, the school hopes to break the Guinness world record for most food gathered at a single-site, single-day food drive. The current mark of 509,147 pounds or 254.6 tons belongs to a 2008 Canadian effort.

Everything gathered for the drive will be distributed by the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

“There’s still quite a bit to do logistically, but I’m feeling good,” Sue Anne Lewis, a student life instructor at the school who has been organizing the effort, said Tuesday. “The Virtual Food Drive really took off, so it’s been kind of amazing to check back all the time and refresh [the Web page] and see how much it’s jumping per hour. There was one period of time in which it was jumping like $1,000 every two or three hours.”

Monetary donations to the Virtual Food Drive will be accepted until 8 a.m. today. As of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, more than $22,936 had been collected, enough to buy nearly 115,000 pounds of food. The current fundraising goal — both the donation deadline and the goal for the online food drive have been extended — is $25,000.

This Saturday, in-person donors will enter the school’s parking lot through the Broad Street entrance. Everyone who donates food will be given a raffle ticket; each 10 pounds of food will earn an raffle ticket. Raffle prizes, which include signed memorabilia from the Carolina Hurricanes, a NASCAR driver, some television stars and a number of in-state college sports figures, will be awarded throughout the day. Winners need not be present.

A tentative schedule of celebrity appearances at the event includes Miss Teen North Carolina and Mrs. America 2009 at 11 a.m., “Biggest Loser” contestant Antoine Dove at 1 p.m. and Durham Bulls mascot Wool E. Bull after 5 p.m.

At one point Tuesday, Joshua Chappell was walking from an on-camera interview outside the school to a sit-down one inside it. The Goldsboro native is a senior at the state-run high school.

“It’s been amazing to see how much work has been put into the food drive,” he said, having paused between interviews to observe Lewis being briefed on parking lot utilization.

A number of people and organizations have reached out to the food drive. Lewis mentioned the Forest at Duke retirement community having donated $7,000 in cash and gathered more than 850 pounds of food and the Turkey, N.C., branch of food packer Allens Inc. having pledged to send about 37,000 pounds.

“It’s been really great to see people back us like they have,” Lewis stated. “And like I’ve said, record or not, it’s all going for a good cause. And if we beat the record, that’s great, because that means even more food that we got for the Food Bank. But if not, we’re [getting] in one day a lot of food that will go to help a lot of people.”

>> NCSSM Food Drive
>> NCSSM Food Drive promo video
>> Watch News-14 Carolina’s pre-coverage
>> World-record chasing food drive organizers take campaign to Net