United Way fundraiser not your run-of-the-mill eating contest

WILLMAR -- Bremer Bank will host a chicken nugget-eating contest Wednesday in one of the more unusual United Way fundraisers in the area this fall.

The United Way of West Central Minnesota will benefit from the competition at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the bank's lobby. Participants will eat as many chicken nuggets as they can in 10 minutes.

One coach and one player from the Willmar High School Cardinals and Ridgewater College Warriors football teams will join in the friendly competition.

Three Bremer employees will also participate, said Shawn Swenson, a bank employee and organizer of the event.

Swenson said the idea for the eating contest was a collaboration of tellers at the bank.

"Everyone I've called to volunteer has been very cooperative," Swenson said in a telephone interview Monday. Burger King will provide the nuggets and the athletic departments at both schools have been happy to participate.

The idea has also drawn "quite a few laughs," he said. "Everyone thinks it's a pretty fun idea."

Bremer employees, clients, and members of the public are encouraged to attend and donate any amount for a chance to guess how many nuggets are consumed by the players and coaches. Prizes for the nearest guesses will be awarded.

The contest is part of a larger effort to encourage bank employees and clients to donate to and volunteer with the United Way of West Central Minnesota. Bremer Bank and the Otto Bremer Foundation are community partners of the United Way.

Corporate fundraising efforts have been under way throughout the fall, and will be wrapping up this week, said Sara Bos, resource development director in United Way's Willmar office.

Companies find lots of creative ideas to raise money, she said, but this is the first eating contest she's seen.