MOLINE, Ill. --- In building a combine from more than 300,000
cans of food, John Deere's Project Can Do not only helped the River
Bend Foodbank in Moline, but also shattered the Guinness World
Record for a canned structure.
"It's one of the best campaigns I've seen over the years," said Barry Nelson, media relations manager for John Deere Ag and Turf Division in Olathe, Kan.
"Not only did it tie in to one of our products, it brought attention to what farmers do every day, and we picked out really good food items to give away to hungry people."
The canned-food combine, which was assembled and displayed at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, blew away the old record of a canned structure made with 115,527 cans of food. That sculpture was made by Disney VoluntEARS at Walt Disney World Resort on Feb. 11, 2010, according to the Guinness Book of World Records website.
The sculpture depicted Deere's new S-690 John Deere Combine harvesting corn. It was 60 feet wide, 80 feet long, and 16 feet tall. It weighed 170 tons and was made from 308,448 cans of food, as well as 11,268 bags of food that included popcorn, peas and beans. Items were purchased by Deere from Hy-Vee Foods.
A team of 450 volunteers, including Deere employees, retirees and their families and friends, spent 1,800 hours during Nov. 12-17 to create the sculpture, which contained 15 types of canned food.
"Guinness Book of World Records has a really good verification process," Nelson said.
"We had to tell them what the project was and we had to have photos and documentation from witnesses."
Only the 308,448 cans that were in the main structure of the combine counted. "It all has to support itself when the structure is built from cans," Nelson said.
The cans used for the trailing auger did not count, he added.
The sculpture was dismantled in mid-December and the food items taken to the food bank.
In addition to the 170 tons of food for the food bank, Mara Sovey, president of the John Deere Foundation, said the foundation board has contributed $175,000 to the BackPack program, which provides hungry children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food for the weekends.
Tom Laughlin, executive director of River Bend Foodbank, has said that more than 7 million pounds of food was distributed in 2011, surpassing the record of 6.7 million pounds of food in 2010.
The food bank serves families in 22 counties in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.
"It's one of the best campaigns I've seen over the years," said Barry Nelson, media relations manager for John Deere Ag and Turf Division in Olathe, Kan.
"Not only did it tie in to one of our products, it brought attention to what farmers do every day, and we picked out really good food items to give away to hungry people."
The canned-food combine, which was assembled and displayed at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, blew away the old record of a canned structure made with 115,527 cans of food. That sculpture was made by Disney VoluntEARS at Walt Disney World Resort on Feb. 11, 2010, according to the Guinness Book of World Records website.
The sculpture depicted Deere's new S-690 John Deere Combine harvesting corn. It was 60 feet wide, 80 feet long, and 16 feet tall. It weighed 170 tons and was made from 308,448 cans of food, as well as 11,268 bags of food that included popcorn, peas and beans. Items were purchased by Deere from Hy-Vee Foods.
A team of 450 volunteers, including Deere employees, retirees and their families and friends, spent 1,800 hours during Nov. 12-17 to create the sculpture, which contained 15 types of canned food.
"Guinness Book of World Records has a really good verification process," Nelson said.
"We had to tell them what the project was and we had to have photos and documentation from witnesses."
Only the 308,448 cans that were in the main structure of the combine counted. "It all has to support itself when the structure is built from cans," Nelson said.
The cans used for the trailing auger did not count, he added.
The sculpture was dismantled in mid-December and the food items taken to the food bank.
In addition to the 170 tons of food for the food bank, Mara Sovey, president of the John Deere Foundation, said the foundation board has contributed $175,000 to the BackPack program, which provides hungry children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food for the weekends.
Tom Laughlin, executive director of River Bend Foodbank, has said that more than 7 million pounds of food was distributed in 2011, surpassing the record of 6.7 million pounds of food in 2010.
The food bank serves families in 22 counties in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.
No comments:
Post a Comment