FARMINGTON — A food drive that will benefit Franklin County food pantries will conclude the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area’s Days of Caring for 2013.

During the first annual Can-Art Competition: A Food Drive with a Creative Twist, teams will create art structures from donated food and toiletry items from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in Olsen Student Center at the University of Maine at Farmington.

The drive is looking for donations of specific items from now until Nov. 15 that can be left at United Way, 232 Broadway, or at the student center, in a container near the front door, said Nancy Teel, volunteer center coordinator. 

Items being sought include boxed rice, canned food such as vegetables, fruit, beans, tuna, soups or broth (no corn), peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, cereal, powdered or boxed milk, evaporated milk, jam and jelly, toilet paper and shampoo.

These are the items most needed by the local food pantries, Teel said.

The Sustainable Campus Coalition at UMF will help separate the items into categories and teams will participate in a lottery to see which items they will have to work with, she said.

From there, the teams will arrange and stack the items into a creative art display.

Sculptures will be on display from Nov. 15 to 17. Judging by popular vote will begin at 5 p.m. Nov. 15. Once the competition is over and prizes have been awarded, the food and toiletry items will be distributed among food pantries in Franklin County, Teel said.

During this year’s Days of Caring, 169 volunteers have contributed 761 hours in the local community. 

“There have been 10 opportunities over the course of 17 days from June until November,” Teel said in a release. A total of  “$5,596 of in-kind supplies and professional services were generously donated by local businesses and organizations.”

Projects have included painting, building exterior storm-window panels, stuffing backpacks, supporting local festivals and the food sculpture contest.

To register a team, visit uwtva.org or contact Teel at nancyteel@uwtva.org or at the United Way on Broadway or Kirsten Swan at kswan@maine.edu or at the Olsen Student Center at UMF.

This event is sponsored by the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area in partnership with UMF. For more information, call 778-5048.

abryant@sunjournal.com