Murray High students may have been rooting for the New England Patriots or the Seattle Seahawks when it came to the Super Bowl, but while cheering on their favorite team, they were working together to help find a winning way for those dependent upon food from the Utah Food Bank.

Those students, with the help of Murray High senior and Miss Murray Megan Zullo, were participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring by raising awareness of child poverty in the city and raising funds for food. The Souper Bowl of Caring is a youth-led national event during the Super Bowl to fight hunger and poverty.

This is the first year Murray High has participated in the program, Zullo said.

“My platform is to help kids and make sure they receive the love that I got as a child,” she said. “So eating right is a big part of the way we can help kids. I was surprised to learn that one-third of Murray School District students go without food on weekends and holidays. So with this effort, 100 percent [of funds raised] stays in Murray that is raised in Murray or can be directed to a school where the donor chooses.”

As of press deadline, $500 had been raised at Murray High by collecting donations at basketball games, with more activities planned to reach the school’s $1,200 goal.

Zullo also was reaching out to local businesses to participate and had received a $5,000 pledge from Murdock Honda.

“It’s a way everyone can participate because any donation helps,” she said. 

And although the official campaign has ended, Zullo said they’ll always take monetary donations for the Utah Food Bank.