The winning team with The Food Bank staff shows off its canned replica of Jesse Hall.
A tropical beach scene. A life-size replica of Mr. Peanut. A Mario Kart screen capture. An alien from Dr. Who.
In the end, it was a miniature Jesse Hall—made completely of canned food—that took top design honors at the University of Missouri’s Department of Information Technology's second DOIT Food Drive.
The drive challenges IT teams to design and build structures using canned food and other non-perishable items while also collecting food and funds for The Food Bank.
The Mr. Peanut team took the prize for donating the most during the two-week campaign, which raised more than 4,000 food items and more than $2,200. The upstairs team at the department’s Locust Street building won the design prize. Both teams will be able to display their respective traveling trophies for the year.
The Food Bank team members judged the structures—no easy feat considering the talent of the designs.
Sea, We CAN End Hunger, Palms Down!
The so-called “basement” team at the Locust Street building challenged the old saying that money does not grow on trees. The palm tree combined dollars and donated food items to become a centerpiece of a tropical beach scene. It included rolling “waves” of paper-covered cans, a coconut made of peanut butter jars and a boat carrying hope in the form of funds for those in need.
Nuts About the Buddy Pack Program
On the first floor, Mr. Peanut—his famous monocle included—showcased the Buddy Pack program, which provides weekly bags of food and monthly jars of peanut butter to children in need. “I’m nuts about the Buddy Pack Program,” says the structure, made up of canned food mostly wrapped in yellow paper.
Jesse Hall Stands Tall for The Food Bank
The design-winning Jesse Hall replica was detail-oriented with cans of food wrapped in red paper, decorated like bricks, and marble-esque columns that made the structure instantly recognizable. To add to the campus feel, additional cans featuring photos of students and visitors graced areas around the columns.
Mario Can Help, Too
The IT team at the Telecom Building adopted a tech theme, essentially creating what appeared to be a screen shot of Mario Kart on the wall. The scene feature Mario jumping into the air, surrounded by flowers and other obstacles found in the game.
Exterminate Hunger
IT employees stationed at the Life Sciences Center looked to Dr. Who for inspiration, creating a Dalek and cityscape of cans, bottled water, jerky sticks and other non-perishable goods. The structure looked ominous but promised to only exterminate hunger.
“This is a really fun way to collect food and funds for those in need,” said Kimberly Kent, special events coordinator at The Food Bank. “This year’s structures were really amazing. We appreciate the Department of IT at Mizzou for all of the hard work they put into building the structures.”