Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
HILBERT, Wisconsin — The Midwest Conference (MWC) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) proudly marks 12 years of community service through the MWC SAAC Canned Food Challenge. Since its launch in the fall of 2014, the Canned Food Challenge has made a significant impact, with student-athletes across the league collecting over 122,000 non-perishable food items and raising $55,290.24 in monetary donations.
Contributions to the Canned Food Challenge have supported numerous local organizations and families in need, exemplifying the commitment of our student-athletes to making a difference in their communities.
When the initiative hit the decade mark, the MWC SAAC rebranded the conference-wide campaign to a more inclusive title - the MWC SAAC Giving Challenge.
While the name has changed, the goal and implementation of the initiative have remained the same. Each member institution's SAAC will oversee campus efforts to collect non-perishable food items and monetary donations to be donated to local food pantries, shelters, or similar organizations of their choosing. To accommodate for the varying institutional academic schedules, each campus SAAC self-selects a four-week collection period within the Challenge dates: Wednesday, October 7, through Wednesday, November 25.
Beginning Thursday, November 5, the league office will post a weekly summary of each participating schools' collection numbers for the corresponding week of the Challenge. The schedule for the media releases is as follows:
- Week 1 - Thursday, November 5, 2026
- Week 2 - Thursday, November 12, 2026
- Week 3 - Thursday, November 19, 2026
- Week 4 - Thursday, November 26, 2026 (Thanksgiving)
The winner of the 2026 MWC Giving Challenge will be announced in the final release on November 26 with the institution's SAAC receiving a banner to display in their athletics facility.
MWC SAAC Canned Food Challenge Champions
2014 Ripon College
2015 Knox College
2016 Illinois College
2017 Lawrence University
2018 Knox College
2019 Ripon College
2021 Knox College
2022 Cornell College
2023 Knox College
2024 Grinnell College
2025 Grinnell College