Brookshire Grocery Co. (BGC) completed its attempt to break a world record on Feb. 24 at the East Texas Food Bank (ETFB) by building the world’s largest canned food pyramid. Community volunteers stacked 36,000 cans over a period of four days to create the 12-ft. pyramid. The cans used for construction were donated to the ETFB to provide more than 30,000 meals to people in need throughout its 26-county service area.
Brookshire’s partnered with the ETFB and Cans Get You Cooking, a national program dedicated to helping families create nutritious meals with canned foods, to raise awareness of the need for hunger relief in East Texas. The event was scheduled in February to coincide with National Canned Food Month.
According to the ETFB, one in four children and one in five adults in East Texas are at risk for food insecurity. Last year, the ETFB provided almost 22 million meals to East Texans in need.
“Breaking this world record has been such a fun and exciting experience, but most importantly, it’s allowed us to help create awareness about the problem of food insecurity in our local communities,” said BGC Chairman and CEO Brad Brookshire, who placed the last can on top of the pyramid. “We are proud to have partnered with the East Texas Food Bank, Cans Get You Cooking and all the community volunteers who helped make this all happen.”
Brookshire’s will send documentation, including photos and a time-lapse video, to the Guinness Book of World Records for verification of the official world record status. The previous world record for a canned food pyramid was 31,001 cans set Nov. 12, 2015, by Transmed Overseas and Pringles.
Brookshire’s will continue its focus on hunger awareness March 22-April 18 with the Del Monte “You CAN Help” promotion and food drive. For every five cans of Del Monte canned products purchased, customers will receive the sixth one free. Stores will have collection bins set up for customers to donate non-perishable goods, which will be distributed to local food banks.
