Brad Brookshire, chairman and chief executive officer of Brookshire's Grocery Co. and Dennis Cullinane, executive director of the East Texas Food Bank, stand in front of the record-breaking pyramid on Friday. LouAnna Campbell/Staff

1. Brookshire’s strives for world record in stacking cans
2. East Texas Food Bank, Brookshire’s to break world record
3. Brookshire’s breaks world record, two cans remain unplaced

“Eye of the Tiger” played over the sounds of a cheering crowd and the beeping boom lift that elevated executives to the top of a record-breaking canned food pyramid.

Clad in safety harnesses, Brad Brookshire, chairman and chief executive officer of Brookshire Grocery Co., and Dennis Cullinane, executive director of the East Texas Food Bank, reached the top of the pyramid and gently placed last few cans atop the towering structure.

It was three days in the making and they believe it will be record breaking.

The University of Texas at Tyler volleyball team late Thursday placed the can that took the count to 30,002 cans, surpassing a food pyramid of 30,001 Pringles cans built in a shopping center in Dubai. Eventually, almost 36,000 vegetable cans were stacked inside the East Texas Food Bank warehouse, leaving the build just shy of the goal and ready for Brookshire and Cullinane’s contribution.

Once the cans were placed Friday afternoon, Brookshire and Cullinane took out their smart phones and took selfies to commemorate the world record-breaking moment.

“It’s been a great project,” Brookshire said. “Thirty-six thousand cans feeding people 30,000 meals in the greater East Texas area. Our company has been a supporter of the East Texas Food Bank since its inception.”

The East Texas Food Bank eventually will take down the 15-ounce cans and begin the process of packing and distributing the food to partners in their 26-county distribution area.

“We’ll get it on the shelves as quickly as we can and get it into the inventory,” Cullinane said. “In the next couple of weeks, it will be out of our doors.”

Dozens of volunteers unpacked 19 pallets of canned food to build the pyramid. The Texas College football team, students from UT Tyler and the UT Tyler volleyball and women’s soccer teams worked shifts after the food bank closed Wednesday and Thursday.

“All of our work comes from donors,” Cullinane said. “A volunteer touches every item that leaves our doors.”

Getting Brookshire’s into the record books is the next step for Amanda Spangler, Brookshire’s marketing assistant.

“We had a camera recording the progress the entire time, providing live coverage. Another camera took pictures of the pyramid every two minutes,” Ms. Spangler said. “We have to provide documentation, witness statements and our video footage to Guinness (World Records) for them to evaluate our project.”

Twitter: @LouAnnCampbell