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Holding a Successful Food Drive

Food Drives are essential sources of food for community food banks. They rely heavily on food donations to distribute much needed food to struggling people. Here's how you can help:

When times are hard, food banks are often the ones to feel the biggest hit. Not only are their services needed more than ever by the community they serve, but donations also dwindle down to a trickle as donors give less than they otherwise would.

But you can help. By organizing a food drive for your local food bank, you can help to ensure that your community will have enough food to go around for everyone.

How to Hold a Successful Food Drive

Create your team.
To get started, call up friends and family to find a partner or two that's willing to help out with arrangements. Organizing a food bank drive by oneself can certainly be done, but it's always more fun with a friend.
Call your local food bank.
Let your local food bank know what you're planning. They can best tell you what they need most, and they may have additional manpower to help with the food drive. Please note: many food banks and pantries are closed on January 19, Martin Luther King Day and the National Day of Service. If you're looking for ways to volunteer that day, consider launching your food drive on the 19th.
Establish roles.
Choose a contact person and/or committee that will create a theme, manage the communications and logistics, and set the goals.
Define a timeline.
You can't really get started until you have an idea of how the food drive's timeline will look. Give yourself enough time to really organize for enough food, but not so much time that you get burned out in the process.
Set up your infrastructure.
Obtain strong collection containers (plastic bins, heavy cardboard boxes, etc.), properly identify them, and place them in strategically located places that are convenient for your target donors.
Print fliers.
A few dozen fliers that call attention to the need in your community can do wonders when you're talking with groups in your area. Make sure you customize the flier to speak directly about your local food bank.
Promote!
Advertise and promote your food drive through newspapers, fliers, memos and e-mails including the dates of the drive and locations of the collection bins. Find out other ways to spread the word.
Start canvasing.
Hit the local religious community by stopping by churches, temples, and mosques. Give them a flier and convince them of the need. Do the same for local clubs and groups. Give a flier to the scrabble club that meets in the local bookstore, give another to the girl scouts lodge across town, and give yet another to the front desk of every school in your area. You'll be amazed at the reaction you can get from such efforts.
Arrange for transportation.
It's easy to forget that a big part of organizing a food drive is getting the food to the food bank. Arrange for the transportation of your collection to the food bank near you. A helpful tip is to reach-out to a neighboring business with transportation resources for assistance and get them involved. If your collection exceeds 400 items, the Food Bank may be able to coordinate a pick-up.
Remember others.
Remember that not all communities have the benefit of having a volunteer as dedicated as you. But just because they don't have a volunteer organizing a food drive doesn't mean they deserve to go without food. Remind those you canvas from that they can text "SHARE" to 20222 to donate $5 to Share Our Strength, and we'll be sure to allocate those funds to wherever they're needed most.

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