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Making a giant treat for a sweet cause

April 8, 2015 By Devin Lowe

Start with some hungry undergraduates, sprinkle in some clever wordplay, add a healthy serving of marshmallow and crispy cereal and what do you get? Project Freshmen 15,000, a student organization that will be cooking up a 15,000-pound Rice Krispie treat this weekend in hopes of breaking a world record.

Project Freshmen 15,000 was concocted by sophomore Joe Tarnowski. Its name intends to poke fun at the “freshman 15” weight gain said to be typical of new college students, but the members hail from all classes and backgrounds, all aiming to make a giant treat for a sweet cause.

The group will begin setting up Thursday morning on Engineering Mall, where they will melt butter and marshmallow over boiling water in six groups. Volunteers will cook all 7.5 tons of the Rice Krispie at five cooking stations and place it in a giant mold.

Although the group’s primary goal is to smash the current record – a meager 10,460 pounds – members will also sell slices of the treat and donate the profits to charities, including The United Way of Dane County and Camp Kasem.

Project Freshmen 15,000 has already successfully baked 150-pound and 500-pound Rice Krispies in a testing phase, but its efforts this weekend will be unprecedented. Stop by between Friday and Sunday to smell the sweetness in the air, and possibly witness a world record in the making.

Tags: student life