A 40-year-old Fort Collins giving tradition wraps up next week. C.A.N.S. Around the Oval, Colorado State University’s annual food and fund drive for the Food Bank for Larimer County, holds its Collection Day on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at The Oval on campus.
This year’s goals are to raise $50,000 and collect 20,000 pounds of nonperishable, nutritious food. Last fall’s drive finished above both marks: $63,991.52 and 22,897.51 pounds, according to CSU’s Office for Basic Needs, which calls the drive a 40-year-old CSU tradition. The 2026 drive kicked off Sept. 14.
Cash counts as much as cans
The name is an acronym: “cash and nutritious staples.” CSU says every $1 donated equals two meals the food bank can provide. Food given to the drive goes either straight to the Food Bank for Larimer County or to Rams Against Hunger, CSU’s own food security program, which runs an on-campus pantry the food bank supplies.
It is also a competition. Teams of two people to hundreds earn 5 points for each pound of food, 10 points for each dollar and 50 points for each member who attends a “CANversation,” one of the drive’s educational sessions. Who can take part? CSU’s answer is one word: anyone. Its list includes campus departments, student groups, community groups, local schools and individuals.
By the numbers
- $50,000 and 20,000 pounds: the 2026 goals
- $63,991.52 and 22,897.51 pounds: the fall 2025 totals
- 2: meals the food bank can provide for every $1 donated, according to CSU
- 1987: the fall of the first drive, which CSU says collected only enough food to circle the Oval once
- 2 weeks: the longest CSU says it will take to announce results after Collection Day
How to take part
- Give online: donations and team sign-ups go through the drive’s fundraising page. CSU asks for final online gifts by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
- Bring food: CSU asks teams to get food to The Oval on the CSU campus in Fort Collins between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Collection Day. School teams in Poudre School District follow a separate pickup plan.
- What to bring: CSU encourages seed or nut butter, beans, pasta and rice, canned proteins, canned fruit, macaroni and cheese, and cereal.
- What to leave home: food in glass jars, frozen, home-canned or perishable food, and anything already opened, served or heated.
- Tax note: CSU says donations to the Food Bank for Larimer County are tax-deductible as provided by law.
- Details: CSU’s C.A.N.S. Around the Oval page and the Food Bank for Larimer County’s page, which also links to volunteer sign-ups.
More like this: Find the Good, Fort Collins, Give Next: 5,300 Larimer County students have awarded $1.56 million, The Fort Collins nonprofit that helped 5,897 kids last year, Open Streets on Laurel Street, Oct. 18
