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With every mouse click counting, Utahns helped "like" their way past Fresno, Calif., to unofficially make Salt Lake City the likely winner in a$1 million online hunger campaign on New Year's Eve.
As of 5 p.m., when the contest ended, Wal-Mart Stores' "Fighting Hunger Together" campaign ranked Salt Lake City as No. 1 and Ogden asNo. 4. In the contest that began on Nov. 15, residents cast votes on a Facebook page for one of 100 communities where hunger rates are highest. Utah has a hunger rate more than twice the national average.
Fresno, which had been ahead for the past week, and lateryo-yoed between first and second place, ended up in second, a million votes behind Salt Lake City's 5.2 million votes.
The official announcement of who the winner is will come from Wal-Mart on Wednesday, after the retailer has time to audit the votes and make sure they are all legitimate and accurate.
If the results stand, Utah's $1 million prize will be awarded to the Utah Food Bank to help fight hunger throughout the state.
Cities placing second through sixth — including Ogden — are to receive $100,000 each.
Jessica Pugh, spokeswoman for the Utah Food Bank, said it has been amazing to see the generosity and support of Utahns over the past few weeks.
"It just goes to show the power of social media when an issue of hunger relief is at the core," Pugh said Friday afternoon.
"Once we saw Utahns were responding generously with Salt Lake City, then we told them to respond with Ogden, too," Pugh said.
To get the word out about how the public could do the most good casting their votes, the Utah Food Bank posted a few suggestions on its website.
Pugh said they knew all the rules when the competition first started, however, she said it seemed like every day they found new ways to "like" and increase their numbers.
The advice the food bank gave the community was " 'Like' Salt Lake City and Ogden and comment and share the link with friends and family, and repeat," Pugh said.
That advice, along with plenty of local media attention, raised the awareness of community members to click for a good cause.
"We are very grateful to every Utahn and every individual that helped support this Facebook campaign," Pugh said. "This has been an exciting victory and we look forward to sharing in the victory on Jan. 5."
She added that the food bank hopes to team up with Wal-Mart for a local celebration around that time.
Only three states made a presence in the unofficial top six spots Friday. Two cities in Utah finished, along with two cities apiece in California and South Carolina garnered the most votes.
A 2009 study by the Food Research and Action Center identified the top 100 metropolitanareas that had the highest rates of food hardship. The study showed 18.2 percent of families in Utah cannot afford regular meals. The study also showed that, nationally, food hardship became the most severe near the end of the year.
The Utah Food Bank provides services for 150 food pantries around the state. Pugh said nearly 1 in 5 families in Utah goes hungry. The money the food bank may get won't just go to Salt Lake City, but will be spread all around Utah, Pugh said.
The money "will help all the way north to Logan, all the way south to St. George and even reach out to the four corners area," Pugh said. "We will make sure to stretch this donation to those that need it most."
Wal-Mart's 'Fighting Hunger' runners-up*
Cities placing second through sixth will receive $100,000.
2 • Fresno, Calif.
3 • Columbia, S.C.
4 • Ogden
5 • Charleston, S.C.
6 • Bakersfield, Calif.
* Results are preliminary. Official results will be announced by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Wednesday.