WESTFIELD-With the frigid temperatures across the region, a bowl of hot soup can be a welcome addition to one’s lunch or dinner menu.
For the second year, City of Westfield employees are conducting a Souper Bowl Challenge in conjunction with Super Bowl LIII to collect non-perishable cans or boxes of soup for the Westfield Food Pantry at 101 Meadow St.
More than 3,500 cans of nonperishable food was collected by City of Westfield employees during the first Souper Bowl Challenge last year. The challenge has been expanded to include the Westfield Athenaeum and Westfield G&E. (Submitted photo)
“We particularly appreciate the support this year, as we have seen a large uptick in client visits because of the government shutdown,” said Rebecca Hart, executive director, Westfield Food Pantry. “People that rely on SNAP, including children, the elderly and our veterans, have seen a delay in benefits.”
City of Westfield Personnel Director Jane Sakiewicz noted her department spearheaded the endeavor last year as a way to give back to the community.
“We started a friendly competition among departments to see who could donate the most cans for the Westfield Food Pantry,” said Sakiewicz, adding that more than 3,500 cans were collected. “The Westfield Police Department was the ultimate winner, and when calculating cans based on employee average, the dispatchers won.”
The deadline to drop off soup for the 2019 Souper Bowl Challenge is Feb. 4 at noon at City Hall, Personnel Department, Room 109. In addition, there are a variety of drop-off locations including the police and fire departments, however, all donations must be brought to City Hall by Monday at noon.
“We decided to expand our reach this year and also invited the Westfield Athenaeum and Westfield G&E to participate,” said Sakiewicz, adding she was “thrilled” they accepted the challenge.
Two collection boxes for the Souper Bowl Challenge are located at the Westfield Athenaeum. (Submitted photo)
“I was very excited to join City Hall in participating in the Souper Challenge this year,” said Daniel Paquette, director, Westfield Athenaeum. “It is a great opportunity to help the Westfield Food Pantry at a time of year that donations might be slower. Most of us are lucky to be able to worry about Tom Brady winning his sixth ring and not have to struggle to put food on the table to feed their family. If we can all help a little, it can make a big difference in the lives of one of our neighbors.”
Paquette noted that collection boxes at the Athenaeum are located at the Elm Street door in the adult library and by the Court Street door in the children’s room.
“We want to support our community and the residents,” said Paquette, noting library employees have already been bringing in cans of soup. “By taking part in the challenges like this we are able to help spread the message and maybe capture the support of people that might not see it elsewhere but come into the library.”
Sakiewicz said ultimately what is most important about the challenge is that food will be collected to help the Westfield Food Pantry during a typically slower donation period.
“We also, at the request of the food pantry, did a granola bar challenge in the summer and more than 5,500 bars were collected.”
For more information on how to help or become involved with the Westfield Food Pantry, visit www.westfieldfoodpantry.com.
“This challenge is a great way to support our neighbors that may be struggling at the moment,” said Paquette. “Bringing non-perishable items to the Athenaeum will help support the Westfield Food Pantry which in turn helps nearly 1,000 people a month.”
