NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. and HOUSTON – In what they described as a friendly fundraiser for their local food shelves, CU Companies, a multiple-owned CUSO owned by 72 Minnesota CUs challenged Credit Union Acceptance Corp., a Houston-based CUSO owned by 60 CUs that resulted in nearly 12,000 items being collected for charity. The three-week challenge called "The Great CU vs. CUAC Food Fight" gave employees of the two CUSOs an opportunity to create a friendly rivalry between the companies with the winner receiving a pizza party courtesy of the loser. In the end, CUAC was the winner after bringing in over 9,000 items by pooling money to purchase food in bulk for the Salvation Army. CU Companies' employees meanwhile collected just under 3,000 items of food for the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf in New Brighton, Minn. CU Companies CEO Brad Crandall said there are really no losers in such an effort. "The food fight challenge was for a great cause. Both companies did well, and I tip my hat to our friends in Texas. However, we'd definitely like a rematch," he remarked. CU Companies provides real estate, business lending, investment and vehicle-acquisition services. CUAC is an auto acquisition and indirect lending CUSO.