March Can Madness competitive food drive underway to benefit Hopelink

A full slate of 32 local and eastside businesses are set to begin Hopelink’s third annual March Can Madness competitive food drive next week to help stock the agency’s five food banks.

The competition begins with the first weigh-in March 9 and will continue until the final two businesses go head-to-head on March 30. The winner will be crowned April 6.

The drive is patterned after the famous national spring college basketball tournament, matching up businesses in weekly competitions to see which one can bring in the most food. Each week, the winning business in every pairing or “bracket” will advance to the following week.

Last year, 30 businesses collected 9,809 pounds of food for Hopelink food banks, with defending champion Hancock’s Bakery in Redmond bringing in 4,589 pounds. This year’s competition has expanded to include businesses in Shoreline and Sno-Valley, in addition to Redmond and Kirkland.

Teams are bracketed together in pairs and one winner from each 2-member bracket will advance to the following week. To ensure that businesses of all sizes are able to compete on a level playing field, the competition uses a unique scoring system: the total pounds of food donated by a business are divided by the total number of employees, resulting in a competitive “score.”

March Can Madness 2012 participants from Shoreline:

• Chuck Olson Chevrolet Kia, Shoreline
• Dale Turner Family YMCA, Shoreline
• Shoreline Chamber of Commerce
• Sterling Savings Bank, Shoreline
• TONI and GUY Hairdressing Academy, Shoreline

The competition is in its third year and was the brainchild of Lake Washington Physical Therapy’s Ben Wobker as a way for local businesses to help stock Hopelink’s five food banks during the time when holiday donations traditionally taper off.

Since 1971, Hopelink has served homeless and low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities in north and east King County by promoting self-sufficiency for all members of our community and helping people make lasting change. Hopelink assists people with meeting their needs for food, shelter, homelessness prevention, family development and stabilization, transportation and adult literacy skills. For more information on Hopelink and its services, call 425.869.6000 or visit the website.