Souper Bowl Comes to Granger

By Natalie Mollinet | [email protected]

West Valley - Granger High students took their football gear off but kept their competitive faces on as they challenged their other classmates to a Souper Bowl to help their fellow students who are in need of some canned food. 

The competition is freshmen against sophomores, juniors against seniors and all around. According to Samantha Gonzales, who’s the studentbody officer service learning coordinator, the food drive has been a bigger success than those in the past. 

“I’m very proud because the classes have definitely stepped up. This isn’t our first food drive, but it’s the first food drive where we did it between the classes and themed with the super bowl,” Gonzales said. 

The students loved the competition ,and the sophomores had the lead at one point and were going strong. 

“The winners get 1,000 points on the final spirit bowl of the year and a trophy that looks like the super bowl trophy, but it has a can instead of a football,” Gonzales said.

The idea of the weeklong event came from an idea that the Utah Food Bank does the same time of year, but putting the competition into the student classes really pushed and motivated the students to get as much food as they could. 

Around the valley, different grocery stores and businesses were involved with Souper Bowl for Caring. This year Harmons donated $76,000 to the Utah Food Bank, and Rocky Mountain Power donated as well. But for Granger High students, the food that is being donated is local and will go to families in their neighborhood and school. 

“The food is very needed at our school,” Gonzales said.

Back in November, the school had another food drive. By the end of the night, all of the food that was donated was completely gone and picked up by students and their families who needed it. 

Faculty and staff said it was a wonderful experience to see how students worked to meet what food was needed, and now they’re doing it in a fun way through the Souper Bowl. The competition is one thing that really motivates them, and so does helping the community. 

“People were so grateful, and to see my own peers going with their families made me happy, because I know we’re helping them not go hungry,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales said that the community needs to know that there are struggling families in their community. The students know about the situation in West Valley City, but other residents don’t know. During the Souper Bowl week, families that needed the food could go into the counseling center and request to take the food that was donated. The counselors take them to the pantry and choose food to take home. 

In the end, all the students showed up and almost every bin was full from each class, but the winner turned out to be the junior class.