Brookshire’s Tries for World Record

Brookshire Grocery Co. has finished its attempt to break a world record by building the world’s largest canned-food pyramid, which took place at the East Texas Food Bank (ETFB) in Tyler, Texas.

Completing the job on Friday, Feb. 24, community volunteers stacked 36,000 cans over four days to create the 12-foot-tall pyramid. The cans used for construction were donated to the ETFB to provide more than 30,000 meals to people in need throughout the food bank’s 26-county service area. Brookshire’s partnered with the ETFB and Cans Get You Cooking, a national program dedicated to helping families create nutritious meals with canned foods, to help raise awareness of the need for hunger relief in east Texas. The event coincided with National Canned Food Month.

According to the ETFB, one in four children and one in five adults in east Texas are at risk for food insecurity. Last year, the ETFB provided almost 22 million meals to east Texans in need.

“Breaking this world record has been such a fun and exciting experience, but most importantly, it’s allowed us to help create awareness about the problem of food insecurity in our local communities,” said Brad Brookshire, chairman and CEO for Brookshire Grocery Co., who placed the last can on top of the pyramid on Friday afternoon. “We are proud to have partnered with the East Texas Food Bank, Cans Get You Cooking and all the community volunteers who helped make this all happen.”

Brookshire’s will send documentation, including photos and a time-lapse video, to the "Guinness Book of World Records" for verification of official world-record status. The previous world record for a canned-food pyramid was 31,001 cans, set Nov. 12, 2015, by Transmed Overseas and Pringles. From March 22 to April 18, Brookshire’s will continue its focus on hunger awareness with the Del Monte You Can Help promotion and food drive. For every five cans of Del Monte canned products purchased, customers will receive the sixth one free. Stores will have collection bins set up for customers to donate nonperishable goods, which will be distributed to local food banks.

Based in Tyler,Texas, Brookshire Grocery Co. operates 177 stores in three states, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, along with three distribution centers.