For Immediate Release – June 16, 2026
Contact: Jess Arneson, Community Engagement Coordinator, 715-421-0390
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI – This year’s United We Can food sculpture competition brought in 4,750 pounds of food donations to support local food programs. Since 2013, this annual event has leveraged a total of 89,343 pounds of food to help community members facing hunger. All donations went directly to five local food programs: FOCUS Family Backpacks, FOCUS Food Pantry, FOCUS Neighborhood Meals, Wisconsin Rapids Family Center, and Adams County Food Pantry.
United We Can is possible thanks to the volunteers who built sculptures, collected donations, helped during the event, and distributed the thousands of pounds of food to local programs. Nine teams competed in this year’s event: Domtar, CAN-nexus from Connexus Credit Union, Ho-Chunk Gaming Nekoosa, Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen, ODC, Paper City Savings Bank, Smurfit Westrock, Team Solarus, and Trust in Giving from WoodTrust Bank. Special thanks to these teams for their efforts and for creating lasting change in our communities!
Winners of this year’s competition are:
- Community Choice Award – Ho-Chunk Gaming Nekoosa
- Best Meal Award – Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen
- Most Creative Award – Domtar
Caption: Community Choice – Ho-Chunk Gaming Nekoosa
Caption: Most Creative – Domtar
Caption: Best Meal – Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen