Hold a Food Drive!
Thanks for your interest in holding a food drive to benefit the
Food Bank of South Jersey.
Food drives are extremely important to us and the people we serve.
The food industry makes generous donations to us, but certain important
foods are often in short supply. You can fill the gap, make a difference,
and help hungry people. Your efforts to organize and conduct a food
drive will provide nutritious, high quality food for your neighbors
in need.
The following step-by-step instructions will tell you everything
you need to know to host a
successful food drive. We have also included links so you can download
posters, a food wish list, and other support materials.
Let's get started!
STEP 1: READ THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY
Click here
to download a printable copy.
STEP 2: DESIGNATE A COORDINATOR
This person (very possibly you) will be responsible for communication
with the Food Bank of South Jersey, promoting the food drive, and
coordinating the actual collection. You may want to have several
people act as a committee, but there should only be one person
in contact with us.
STEP 3: ASK FOR SUPPORT
Make sure your school, church, office or organization’s top
management has endorsed your food drive, and will do everything they
can to help you organize, promote, and run it.
STEP 4: CHOOSE YOUR DATES
Holidays are typically the time when most people lend a helping hand,
but food drives can be conducted any time of the year. Hunger doesn't
take a holiday. The perfect time for your food drive is NOW. Select
a start date that gives you plenty of time for planning and organization.
STEP 5: REGISTER YOUR FOOD DRIVE
You can do this two ways:
1. Click here to
download and print a registration form. Fill it out and return it
to our Coordinator of Volunteer Services (the mailing address
and fax number are at the bottom of the form).
OR...
2. Click here to register your food drive online.
STEP 6: PLAN YOUR COLLECTION
Where will you collect the food? What will you put it in?
We can supply Food Bank of South Jersey collection bins, or you
may prefer to use your own containers or boxes. Please note that
during our busiest season – September through December –bins
may not be available due to their limited number.
If yours is a large organization, you may want to have several collection
points with at least one container at each location. A smaller organization
should choose one large, visible collection point in a high traffic
area. Your collection point, remember, also serves as continuous
publicity for your drive. Consider where food will be kept if there
is overflow.
STEP 7: MAKE IT FUN!
Click here
for some unique themes and ideas to generate enthusiasm for your
drive.
STEP 8: SET A GOAL!
People like to shoot for a goal. Determine how many pounds of food,
or how many items, you hope to collect. Don’t be afraid to
think big! When we receive your food, we'll weigh it and tell you
how many pounds you collected.
STEP 9: PRINT OUR WISH LIST
We appreciate all non-perishable food donations, but there are certain
items we always need the most. Click here
to download and print our Most Needed Items list. Distribute it
to your target audience.
STEP 10: SPREAD THE WORD!
Promote your food drive by hanging posters, distributing flyers,
and making announcements at meetings. Put notices in your local
newsletter, bulletin, or other publications. Put collection boxes
out early, and decorate containers to draw attention to them. Include
your goal in all your publicity material. Spreading the word is
essential to your food drive’s success.
Click here
for an 8 ½ x 14” poster you can download
and print.
STEP 11: COLLECT THE FOOD
As food donations come in, check your collection areas for overflow
and box items as you go. Continue promoting your food drive throughout
the collection period.
STEP 12: DELIVER THE FOOD
If you drop off the food yourself, you save us time, money, and resources.
Our warehouse at 1501 John Tipton Blvd., Pennsauken, NJ is open
Mon-Fri between 9 am and 3:30 pm. No appointment is necessary.
If you collected your food in our bins, call for a pickup when the
bins are almost full, but before they're overflowing. Pick-up requests
should be made as far in advance as possible, as it may take up to
two weeks after your drive ends to get our truck out to you.
To schedule a pick-up, contact us at 856 662-4884 or volunteer@foodbanksj.org.
Thanks again! |
