Despite its best efforts, the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham couldn't beat the Guinness world record last year when students set out to collect the most food at one location in 24 hours.
This year, it wised up: The Durham residential magnet school partnered with the Mormons.
When it comes to planning, mobilizing volunteers and executing large-scale operations, no group can quite match The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On Saturday, when the school attempts to break the world record once again, it is wagering the Mormon stakes, or geographic regions, of Raleigh and Apex will push them over the top.
"It's the perfect partnership," said Sue Anne Lewis, student life instructor at the Durham school. "They're providing the manpower, the energy and the enthusiasm."
The church, which has an extensive welfare program and a regional network of farms, storehouses and canneries, has always taken good care of its own. But members of this 13.8 million-member worldwide church also undertake numerous humanitarian and relief projects around the globe.