A full slate of 25 local businesses, including five from Bellevue, are off and running in Hopelink’s fourth annual Can Madness competitive food drive to help stock the agency’s five food banks.
The first weigh-in will take place Friday (March 8) and the competition will continue until the winner is crowned April 5.
The drive is patterned after the March Madness college basketball tournament, but matches businesses in weekly competitions to see which one can bring in the most food. Each week, the winning business in every bracket will advance to the following week.
Last year, 32 businesses collected 23,535 pounds of food and more than $3,000 in cash donations to help feed local families. Three-time tournament winner Hancock’s Bakery in Redmond brought in 7,590 pounds during the competition, edging out Guild Mortgage of Kirkland in the final. The Kirkland business collected a total of 7,598 pounds.
To ensure a level playing field, the competition uses the total pounds of food donated by a business, divided by the total number of employees.
Bellevue teams competing are HomeStreet Bank, Malawi Seattle Association, Massage Center of Bellevue, Samena Swim & Recreation Club and TJ Maxx (Factoria).
