Golf and Give Innovation Challenge Yields Benefits for Billiken Bounty

The Saint Louis University community stocked Billiken Bounty's shelves this week by playing through a mini-golf course built from shelf-stable food items. The event provided nearly $2,200 in food and pantry items.

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Members of the SLU community play miniature golf on a course constructed from shelf-stable grocery items at Golf and Give, an Innovation Challenge to benefit Billiken Bounty, on February 24, 2026. Photo by Sarah Conroy.

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Members of the SLU community play miniature golf on a course constructed from shelf-stable grocery items at Golf and Give, an Innovation Challenge to benefit Billiken Bounty, on February 24, 2026. Photo by Sarah Conroy.

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Members of the SLU community play miniature golf on a course constructed from shelf-stable grocery items at Golf and Give, an Innovation Challenge to benefit Billiken Bounty, on February 24, 2026. Photo by Sarah Conroy.

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Members of the SLU community play miniature golf on a course constructed from shelf-stable grocery items at Golf and Give, an Innovation Challenge to benefit Billiken Bounty, on February 24, 2026. Photo by Sarah Conroy.

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Members of the SLU community play miniature golf on a course constructed from shelf-stable grocery items at Golf and Give, an Innovation Challenge to benefit Billiken Bounty, on February 24, 2026. Photo by Sarah Conroy.

Located in the Center for Global Citizenship, Billiken Bounty is a safe place where SLU students can choose from a variety of grocery items and healthy foods to help alleviate food insecurity. 

Eleven teams signed up to participate in the third annual innovation challenge, led by Saint Louis University’s School of Science and Engineering and the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business. Nearly 100 members of the SLU community played the course over Feb. 24-25.

The participating SLU student organizations included: American Society of Civil Engineers, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), Chemistry Club, Engineers Without Borders, Entrepreneurship Ambassadors, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Parks Racing FSAE, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Space System Research Laboratory and Women in Aviation.

The teams were challenged to create a mini-golf hole that creatively represents their student organization out of the donation items, employing their creativity and innovative thinking skills. Golfers had the chance to vote for their favorite golf hole design.

Parks Racing took home the top prize of $1,000 and Women in Aviation came in second, receiving $500 for their organization.

Billiken Bounty operates on donations of either shelf-stable items or money. The Golf and Give events have raised more than $2,000 in food and pantry items each year.