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Conducting food drives are a great way for a congregation or school or community group to get involved at the MCFRC. We serve almost 100 families each month and give out over 350 bags FULL of food. That’s a lot of food. Mount Calvary Lutheran Church collects food the third Sunday of every month from its congregation, which, in conjunction with other sporadic donations from area churches, schools and groups, is what keeps the MCFRC supplied with food.
Some tips for running a successful food drive:
Plan the Drive:
- If you want to collect on a regular basis, pick a specific day (i.e. the first Sunday of the month or the first Wednesday of the month) and promote that as the regular donation time. Advertise in materials such as bulletins, newsletters or similar formats as well as any signs or posters.
- If you do not want a regular collection day but would rather do sporadic food drives, then pick a theme such as “Make a Breakfast” where people donate oatmeal, cereals, breakfast drinks, etc as donations. Many more food drive options and themes are listed below.
- Set a goal for how many pounds of food, how many cans or the dollar amount you will collect.
- Even with a regular collection, you can still do specialty food drives such as “Juice and Jelly January” or “Diaper Drives” to target specific areas of need.
- Decide on a collection point for the food and plan when and how the food will be transported to the food shelf.
Promote the Drive:
- Schedule a fun kick-off event.
- Educate your group about the issue of hunger
- Make a “goal graph” and fill in weekly totals until the final goal is reached
- Decorate a container to hold donated food.
- Place posters and flyers in highly visible places.
- Distribute memos or send letters to parents, neighbors, area businesses, etc.
- Provide each person with a bag to fill with food.
- Issue reminders throughout the drive.
Make it Fun:
- Encourage friendly competition between Sunday School classes, youth groups, study groups, etc.
- Conduct a raffle for prizes.
- Reward groups and individuals who collect the most food.
Thank the Participants:
- Certificates of appreciation
- Thank you cards or letters
- Throw a party to celebrate your successful food drive.
Here is a list of items that the MCFRC often needs:
- Crackers
- Jelly
- Juice
- Ketchup
- Canned meats
- Pasta dinners (boxed and canned)
- Rice
- Rice dinners
- Snacks
- Coffee and Tea
- Baking mixes (muffin, cake, etc.)
- Flour
- Sugar (white, powdered, brown)
- Cereal
- Pasta sauce
- Canned tomatoes
- Diapers
- Laundry detergent
- Laundry dryer sheets
- Paper goods (paper towels, napkins
- Personal hygiene products (toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, body wash)
- Grocery gift cards
Food Drive Themes
- Food Day – designate days of the week for specific foods, i.e. Macaroni Monday, Tuna Tuesday, Wheaties Wednesday, Turkey Thursday, Fruity Friday.
- Challenges/Competitions – organize a contest between classrooms or grade levels with lots of categories:
- largest individual donation
- most original design for a food barrel
- raise our weight in food
- MEAT the Need – canned meat drive.
- Make Every BEAN COUNT – canned or dried beans drive.
- Food Drive Event – have an event, party, or production as part of the drive and charge “food admission” – the admission price = a certain number of food items.
- Fill ‘er Up, Stuff-a-Bus, Fill-a-Truck, Fill A Shopping Cart – fill the gymnasium, truck, bus or other designated area with food.
- Wash Away Hunger –a car wash where the price of a wash is a food item.
- Hunger Walk, Run, Bike, or Dance-a-thon – have sponsors pledge food instead of money.
- Specialty Boxes or Bags such as:
- Baby Boxes – may contain formula, diapers, baby cereal, fruit juice, and baby food.
- Special Diets – such as low-sodium or diabetic.
- Kid Packs – may contain macaroni and cheese, alphabet soup, chicken noodle, instant oatmeal, peanut butter, pudding packs, applesauce, cereal grain bars, juice boxes, graham crackers, and fruit cup packs.
- Hot Dish Drive – contain the ingredients to make hot dishes.
- Winter’s Coming Drive – donations consist of “winter” items like stew, chili, and hot chocolate mix (don’t forget the marshmallows!).
- Bathroom Cabinet Bags – contain items commonly found in your bathroom: soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, shampoo or deodorant.
Food drive Slogans:
“Hunger’s Heroes”
"No matter how you say it, ‘Hunger Hurts.’"
"The hungry are counting on you."
"Let’s get together to end hunger."
"Let’s clean up on hunger."
"Building a better community by fighting hunger today."
"Lend the hungry a helping hand."
"Turn the Tables on Hunger"
"A City without Hunger is a City with Heart"
“Cans for Children”
“Super Kids Soup Collection”
“It Makes Cents!” (coin drive)
“Hunger Won’t Wait”
“Raise Your Voice for the Hungry”
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