Host a Food Drive!

The Food Bank relies on support from our community to help collect food to support our mission of “no one goes hungry.” Encourage your friends, family, company, place of worship, school, or neighborhood to get involved and participate!

Want to know how to host a fantastic food drive? Check out the resources below! 

Resources:

Getting Started | Virtual Food Drive | What to Donate

Ideas & Themes | Helpful Materials | Delivery & Dropoff

Getting Started: Follow these easy steps:

1. Register your drive.
2. Increase the impact of your donations by including a Virtual Food Drive.
3. Promote your drive using emails, social media, flyers, and word of mouth.
4. Pick up boxes and drop off your food collection at any food bank branch. View Branch Locations »

Virtual Food Drive: Increase the impact of your donations—for every $1 donated, the Food Bank can provide $10 worth of food or 5 meals! Follow a few simple steps to create your personal page and your friends and family can browse through our virtual grocery aisles, add items to a shopping cart, and check-out by making a monetary donation. Consider making it a team effort! Organize a competition between your neighbors, within your company, or among your community by easily setting up a team page. Learn More »

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What to Donate: Nutritious, non-perishable food! Listed below are the most needed items (print a graphic of this list):

• Canned Fruits, Vegetables, Meat, and low-sodium Soup in pop-top cans
• Whole Grain Pasta, Brown Rice, Dried Beans, and Cereal
• Peanut Butter
• For Infants: Formula, Infant Cereal, Diapers, and Wipes
• For Kids: Fruit Cups, Juice Boxes, Granola Bars, Crackers, Popcorn and Sugar-Free Pudding Cups
• Non-Food Essentials: Hygiene Items, Household Items, and Paper Products

*Please - No perishable foods, loose glass, or plastic jars of baby food as they will have to be discarded due to health regulations

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Ideas and Themes: Creative ideas to make your food drive super fun and successful!

• Pass out grocery bags to your co-workers and have Whole Grain Mondays, Tuna Tuesdays, or Peanut Butter Week to encourage donations of nutritious items
• Have a competition between departments such as building structures out of cans.
• Consider challenges such as raising your weight in food or filling the CEO's office with cans.
• Offer raffle prizes for donations such as a paid vacation day, event tickets, books or artwork.  
• Host a neighborhood yard sale that benefits the Food Bank and offer discounts for donated cans
• Host a party for friends where door prizes are given for cans of food
• Ask guests to bring cans of food at your events such as BBQ's or dinner and birthday parties
• Collect cans of food at Halloween instead of candy

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Helpful Materials: More awesome stuff to help you on your way!

• The Food Drive Toolkit puts all of this information into a printable document
• Brochures & Logos has more Food Bank info and logos you can download and print
• Our Most Needed Items List is a printable document of, well, the food we need most
• "Donate Items Here" Food Drive Sign
• "Donate Today" Food/Funds Drive Flyer with $1 = 5 Meals helpful fact
• Hunger Heroes has lots of activities made especially for kids

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Delivery & Dropoff: You can deliver your food collection to any of our six Food Bank Branches. In order to save our resources, we ask that you deliver if at all possible. If you're unable to arrange a drop off, please contact our Food & Fund Drive Coordinator to discuss possible pickup options. One week's notice is required to request a donation pickup. 

• Raleigh: 1924 Capital Blvd, 8:30am-4:30pm M-F
• Durham: 2700 Angier Ave, 9am-noon; 1pm-4pm M-F
• Greenville: 1712 Union Street, 7:30am-4pm M-F
• New Bern: 205 South Glenburnie Rd, 10am-2pm Tu-Th
• Sandhills: 195 Sandy Avenue 8am-4pm M-F
• Wilmington: 1314 Marstellar Street, 8:30am-11:30am & 1:30pm-3:30pm M-Th

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Need more information?

Feel free to contact our Food & Fund Drive Coordinator: fooddrive@foodbankcenc.org or call 919-863-9530