Alameda County Employees Donate More Than 8 Tons of Food to Stone Soup Holiday Food Drive and Design Competition

The Winners of Alameda County’s Stone Soup Holiday Food Drive and Design Competition will be announced at 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 25, at a meeting of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

The competition this year enabled Alameda County to smash its all-time record for employee donations to the County’s annual Holiday Food Drive in support of the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

County employees donated more than 8 tons of food and over $8,000 in cash to nearly double the County’s previous record, set last year.

“This shows that when we mobilize our 9,500-plus employees, we can really make a difference,” said Susan S. Muranishi, Alameda County Administrator. “Our dedicated workforce and executive leaders are generous, creative and committed to improving our communities and the lives of our residents.’’

The food drive’s success was achieved by creating some friendly competition amongCounty departments that were urged to rise above their peers in terms of total donations raised and to test their artistic know-how by creating compelling sculptures/art pieces using donated food cans, boxes and packages.

It is this latter aspect of the County’s Stone Soup competition that really stirs employee passions. This year, they pulled out all the stops to create visual public displays in Countybuildings emphasizing the theme of hunger.

In all, 14 County departments participated in this year’s competition. Using food items they created several imaginative displays, including: a replica of Hayward’s historic Meek Estate Mansion; a “Kingdom of Can-a-Lot and the Knights of the Full Table;’’ a detailed model of Oakland’s Rene C. Davidson courthouse; a model of the robot “Wall-E,’’ that combines food packages with some high-tech gadgetry in a depiction of the Pixar Animation movie character; and a replica of the Oakland shoreline, complete with the Port of Oakland’s towering cargo cranes.

“These amazing displays are what people are talking about as they pass through our County buildings,’’ said Keith Carson, President of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. “We hope that the generosity and creative talents of our employees inspire others to have conversations about the basic needs of our communities and take action to help end hunger here in Alameda County.”

Four awards will be presented on Tuesday, based on the best incorporation of food; the most creative concept; a “Chef’s Award’’ that combines the first two categories; and a “Best Recipe Award” that factors in the entry’s total amount of food and cash collected.

—Information, photos submitted by Alameda County