Host a Food Drive!

The Food Bank relies on support from the community to help collect food to support our mission.
Encourage your friends, family, company, church, school, or neighborhood to get involved and participate!

Check out the resources below for more information on how to host a fantastic food drive.

Resources:

Launching Steps | What to Donate | Ideas & Themes

Helpful Materials | Delivery & Dropoff | Virtual Food Drive

Launching Your Drive: Follow these easy steps:

1. Register your drive.
2. Promote your drive using emails, social media, flyers, and word of mouth.
3. Drop off your food collection at any food bank branch. View Branch Locations »

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

• Canned Fruits, Vegetables, Meat, and Soup (Pop-top cans and low sodium a plus!)
• 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 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: Feel free to use any of these creative ideas to make your food drive super fun.

• 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 parties
• Collect cans of food at Halloween instead of candy
• Decorate your box and enter our Holiday Food Drive Box Decorating Contest

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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 Here" Food Drive Sign: Small Size (8.5 x 11) or Large Size (11 x 17)
• "Donate Today" Food/Funds Drive Flyer with $1 = 5 Meals helpful tidbit
• 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 Drive Manager to arrange a pick up (48 hours notice required.)

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Virtual Food Drive: A Virtual Food Drive is a food drive online! Follow a few simple set up screens 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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Need more information?

Feel free to contact our Food Drive Coordinator at fooddrive [at] foodbankcenc [dot] org or call 919-865-3049.