Church hosts annual cook-off

Eating chili later this week will help families afford a Greenwood private school.

Saints Francis and Clare Catholic School, 5901 Olive Branch Road, Greenwood, will be having their annual chili cook-off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Diners will be able to sample chili from 50 or 60 chefs, parishioners and educators and participate in a silent auction. Chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and frozen yogurt also will be on the menu. Tickets are $5.

However, the dinner and cook-off represents more than trying to make the best chili, principal Betty Popp said.

The event has been a staple at the school since it opened and is a kick-off to Catholic Schools Week, which helps create awareness for a Catholic school education.

And the proceeds help struggling families fund their children’s tuition through the school’s assistance fund.

“It is huge in the parish and the school and is very well attended,” Popp said.

The school has about 550 students from infant to eighth grade, and the cook-off also acts as a community event for the students who are joined by a school whose enrollment is not based on a geographical map of where they live.

“It is a great way to bring the community together,” she said. “You have to have events where people can socialize.”