West Houston Assistant Ministries coordinating 'Souper Bowl'

When you're shopping for Super Bowl Sunday party snacks, West Houston Assistance Ministries (WHAM) and other charities around the country are hoping you'll put a few extra food items in your cart for the needy.

The organization announced this week that it is encouraging participation in the annual Souper Bowl of Caring, a national food drive started in 1990 in South Carolina.

Participants can drop off food items to WHAM in red barrels outside area grocery stores, or collect money and food on their own. For donations of any kind to count in the Souper Bowl of Caring, they must be registered on its website, souperbowl.org.

Souper Bowl of Caring has kits on its website to help groups and individuals plan their drives, coordinate a special event and tally up their donations to charities.

The deadline is Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 6.

Since it got its start among church groups in Columbia, South Carolina, Souper Bowl of Caring has grown across the country and organized the donation of $70 million to soup kitchens, food banks and other charities. The 2011 goal is $11 million.

To find out more about local Souper Bowl efforts for WHAM, visit whamministries.org.