How to Host a Food Drive: Best Ideas for Your Community

How to Host a Food Drive: Best Ideas for Your Community

Gather supplies for local food banks.

Combat the negative effects of COVID-19.

Collect funds to support the food-insecure in your community.

Raise money with a crowdfunding campaign.

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Thousands of nonprofits and individuals across the country work diligently to raise funds and collect supplies in the fight against hunger. When disaster strikes, the need for these resources is often amplified, yet organizations struggle to match the demand and meet the needs of their communities.

Specifically, that’s what we’ve seen as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. With schools closed, millions out of work, and a looming recession ahead, families are finding that they don’t know where their next meal will come from. To make matters worse, most food banks and pantries are being depleted of their resources faster than they can replenish them.

That’s where food drives come in! Community members all around the world have noticed an unmet need and are trying to do something about it. Let’s explore this idea further and see how we can do our part to help out.

What is a Food Drive?

A food drive is a specific type of fundraiser in which individuals and groups collect both in-kind and monetary donations for the purpose of stockpiling food items.

Then, these (typically non-perishable) food items are ultimately distributed to community members in need.

What Do Food Drives Do, and Why Are They Important?

Did you know that 1 in 8 Americans doesn’t know where their next meal will come from? And many of these individuals are ineligible for federal assistance. That’s why food drives are a great way to provide food-insecure individuals and families with the supplies they need to stay healthy.

Plus, in the midst of a global health and financial crisis, the number of food-insecure individuals has drastically risen— and current food banks and hunger relief organizations can’t keep up. Here are three key reasons to host a food drive and the significance behind each:

Keep Food Bank Shelves Stocked

There are thousands of food banks and pantries across the nation that are dedicated to feeding the hungry in their respective local areas.

However, many of these organizations rely on charitable donations from other community members to support their efforts and keep the shelves stocked.

Food drives help provide the necessary funding and supplies to keep the doors open. While there are certainly some generous donors who support hunger relief organizations on a regular basis, many of these nonprofits require certain community-wide boosts to get the giving going.

Raise Awareness About Food Insecurity

Many who are financially sound often wildly underestimate the degree to which hunger impacts the nation and even their own communities. Organizing a food drive is a great opportunity for raising awareness about the extent of the problem and the huge need for food and funding.

Plus, by partnering with a local food bank or pantry, you can simultaneously increase awareness for organizations that are already working hard in your communities.

After all, raising awareness is the first step in advocating for change and improvement! Starting the conversation with others who are looking to make a difference is a great place to start.

Inspire Continued Support

Hosting a food drive doesn’t have to be a one-time event. Once you start raising awareness for a specific need in your community, there’s a good chance that many supporters will choose to stay involved year-round.

If you partner with a local food bank for your food drive, don’t let that relationship falter once your campaign wraps up. Instead, consider finding ways to support these organizations on a regular basis and encourage your communities to stick together!

Your food drive can essentially be used as a foundation from which life-long support, eager volunteerism, and hunger relief advocattion can grow.

The Purpose Behind Food Drives

41 million

The number of individuals in the U.S. living in food-insecure households in 2018

25%

The percentage of food-insecure individuals who are likely ineligible for federal aid

1 in 6

The fraction of American children who do not know where their next meal will come from

37 million

The number of Americans who receive supplies from food pantries and banks each year

How Can I Host a Food Drive or Food Fundraiser?

Organizing a food drive might seem like an overwhelming task, but it can actually be quite simple. Let’s walk through the main steps involved in hosting one, and you’ll be ready to get started in no time.

Step 1: Partner with a Local Organization
The first step is to find a local organization that’s already working to fight hunger in your community. A great resource for this is Feeding America, which is a network of more than 200 food banks and thousands of food pantries across the country.

After locating an organization, be sure to communicate with their team to determine what sort of resources are most valuable to them. Most often, it’s actually not food donations. Money is much more useful because food banks are able to buy the food they know they can distribute to families at far below retail value.

Plus, with social distancing in place for the foreseeable future, it is often safer for food banks to collect money and buy their food from one consistent location than to receive (and have to clean and disinfect) donations from a variety of sources.
Step 2: Choose Your Team
Then, it’s important to find a team of dedicated volunteers to work with you as you plan and organize your food drive. If you’re already a part of a nonprofit organization, your team will likely be composed of your nonprofit volunteers and staff members. If you’re working as an individual looking to host a food drive, be sure to gather a few friends and community members to help out.
Step 3: Start a Crowdfunding Campaign
Because monetary donations are so much more valuable for hunger-relief organizations, sometimes the most effective type of food drive doesn’t collect food at all! Instead, hosting a crowdfunding campaign allows you to collect donations from individuals who want to support your cause— plus, it expands your reach by allowing you to collect money from all over the world.

With the right online crowdfunding software, your team can quickly and easily raise the money needed to fund your selected food bank and get food out to those in need.

Step 4: Start Reaching Out
The next (and possibly most important) step is to get the word out about your food drive fundraiser. After all, no one can participate if they never hear about the fundraiser.

Many people want to volunteer and give back but are finding their usual channels unavailable due to social distancing. Setting up a virtual campaign and spreading the word about ways to give back online helps you inspire other people to contribute in new ways.

One of the greatest benefits of hosting a virtual food drive through a crowdfunding campaign is freedom from physical and geographical barriers. That means it’s crucial that you spread the word far and wide to ensure the greatest turnout!

Consider leveraging your social media networks, your organization’s website, email contacts, and personal outreach to friends and family to reach as many donors as possible. A successful digital strategy allows you to secure more support and therefore help more people.
Step 5: Organize Drop-Off
Even if your food drive is going to be mostly virtual, you’ll still want to provide instructions and space required to facilitate the drop-off of food items.

Accepting donations of food products is great for individuals who are looking to get involved but may not have the financial capacity to give right now. This way, individuals and families could use the opportunity to donate any non-perishable food items they already have in the house!

Be sure to choose a convenient time and location for individuals to make the drop-off. If it’s too far out of the way or at an inopportune time, even willing donors are less likely to follow through. For example, consider leaving a box open for donations out at a community center for drop-off at any time over the course of an entire week.

And if you’re looking for a way to schedule volunteer shifts, show drop off locations, and collect monetary donations all in one place, you’re in luck. Thanks to Fundly’s integration with SignUpGenius, you can create sign-up forms for volunteers and/or food recipients, and create a link to your crowdfunding campaign right within the sign-up form.

Food Drive Ideas for Your Community

An effective food drive can utilize successful fundraising engagement strategies to get your community involved as well. Here are some of our top food drive fundraising ideas to have fun while supporting a good cause.

Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

A grocery store scavenger hunt is a great way to make shopping for others fun. Ramp up excitement by providing shopping lists of the most-wanted foods suggested by your partnering food bank. Be sure to post this list on your website and social media channels to get the word out!

Then decide how to score points. You may ask for items from various categories or score based on certain health factors like protein levels.

Be sure to offer a small prize for the winner (like a custom t-shirt) to motivate shoppers and encourage some healthy competition.

Put on a grocery store scavenger hunt to get supporters excited for your food drive.

Canned Pledge Fundraiser

You’ve likely heard of a walk-a-thon (or even a run- or dance-a-thon) fundraiser. For example, a child may gather a pledge of $2 per lap walked in a fundraising event. If the child walks 10 laps, the donor makes a $20 donation to the organization hosting the event.

This class fundraiser can be easily adapted to be a food drive fundraiser! Instead of cash donations, simply ask for pledges in the form of canned food items. So for every lap walked, a donor gives a set number of cans.

Or, you can always collect monetary donations and provide your food bank partner with a cash gift!

Accept cans for your food drive as payment for walk-a-thon pledges.

Holiday-Themed Drive

This is a great food drive to hold in the fall months approaching Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not only do people traditionally feel more charitable during the holiday giving season, but it also opens the doors to organize exciting fundraisers like these!

Make up a list of holiday-themed non-perishable food items that donors can collect and purchase for this food drive fundraiser. For example, encourage shoppers to pick up canned cranberry sauce, boxed stuffing, instant potatoes, and more. It’s a great way to share the holiday spirit with families who may not be able to celebrate otherwise.

Host a holiday themed food drive to capitalize on the holiday spirit.

Favorite Meal of the Day

Allow community members to vote for their favorite meal of the day by donating non-perishable food associated with each meal! To get started, set up three large boxes in a convenient location. Then, encourage individuals to take part in your food drive by placing cans in one of three boxes— breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Leave the boxes out for a set amount of time and watch as your community “votes” for their favorite meal For the best results, be sure to provide suggested items for each meal. For example, cereal or oatmeal for breakfast, peanut butter and jelly for lunch, or pasta and canned vegetables for dinner!

Allow supporters to vote for their favorite meal in this unique food drive.

Battle of the Sexes

Similar to the Best Meal of the Day fundraiser, this food drive involves setting up boxes in a well-trafficked area. Yet this time, you’ll label each box with “male” or “female.” Get the word out and encourage people of all genders to stop by and vote by dropping food items in one of the two boxes to find out who the superior sex is— once and for all.

After a set period of time, measure the results (by volume, weight, number of products, or another metric of choice) and determine the winner.

Then, consider hosting some sort of event to reveal the champion! You might do this via live streaming tools to allow more participants to tune in.

Host a battle of the sexes food drive to leverage healthy competition.

Soup-er Bowl Party

Canned soup is a very valuable food item in hunger-relief organizations, thanks to its popularity and nutritional value. Consider hosting a soup-themed fundraiser to bring in as much as possible! Although this is a great idea year-round, it works best in the weeks leading up to the NFL’s Super Bowl.

For example, you can start planning a Super Bowl watch party for the day of the big game (early February of each year). Be sure that community members are aware of and excited about your fundraising event by getting the word out early. Then, accept cans of soup (or other non-perishable food products) as an admission fee to the party!

Host a soup-themed food drive leading up to the Super Bowl.

Virtual Food Drive

Although there are definitely perks to hosting a dedicated in-kind donation food drive, it’s important to remember that monetary donations to hunger relief organizations can be substantially more effective. That’s why holding a virtual food drive fundraiser might be your best bet!

Because food banks and pantries can purchase food supplies in bulk at much below retail costs, oftentimes cash donations are the preferred choice. That way, your efforts and donations can go further and make a larger impact on your community.

Although many types of online fundraising campaigns can work for your online food drive, crowdfunding is likely the most effective strategy. Starting an online crowdfunding campaign allows you to collect small and mid-size donations from donors all over the world (rather than be limited by a geographical distance for physical food donations).

Plus, an online food drive is convenient for organizers and donors alike⁠— especially in the midst of a pandemic. No need to worry about germs and proper social distancing thanks to digitally processed payments and online tools!

A virtual food drive can be one of the most effective ways to support your community.

Examples of Great Food Drives and Fundraisers

Sometimes the easiest way to get inspired is by taking a look at what those working toward similar goals are doing. Here are two examples of ways that others are raising money quickly and safely for food banks in their area!

Here's an example of a crowdfunding page for a food drive in Michigan.

Feeding Northern Michigan

Feeding Northern Michigan is a crowdfunding campaign that’s raising money to assist Michigan food pantries in fulfilling the increasing demands for food amid the COVID-19 crisis. They’ve already surpassed their goal of $10,000 by over 33%, with several days left in the campaign and fundraising still going strong.

What’s great about this food drive fundraiser is that it makes use of suggested donation amounts when a user goes to make a donation. For $21, an individual can feed a family of 4 for a week, or $100 provides supplies necessary for a month!

Here's an example of another food drive crowdfunding page.

The Open Door’s Crisis Response Campaign

The Open Door is a Minnesota-based nonprofit working to fight hunger in a trying economic time. As a result of COVID-19, the organization requires increased assistance to effectively provide for their community.

So far, this campaign has raised $186,000 of its $200,000 goal thanks to nearly 500 generous donors. According to Sarah O’Brien, The Open Door’s development and communications manager, reaching their fundraising goal would ensure that they could continue to support 7,000 individuals each month.

Start Your Crowdfunding Campaign Today

Learn how Fundly can help you raise money for your food drive!

Additional Resources

Crowdfunding 101: Raising Money and Awareness Online

Crowdfunding is a great way to bankroll a food drive.

First time crowdfunding and not sure where to get started? Lucky for you, crowdfunding is quite simple once you get the hang of it!

We’ve put together this comprehensive guide to help you better understand the process as well as the tools you’ll need to succeed.

Click here to learn more about crowdfunding

131 Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits and Individuals

Plan a unique and exciting fundraiser to go along with your food drive!

Running the same fundraisers over and over can quickly become tiresome— both for your team and even the most dedicated supporters.

Instead, check out some of our favorite ideas for unique and engaging fundraising campaigns that will truly excite your donors.

Click here to explore our top fundraising ideas

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: A Guide For Nonprofits

Peer-to-peer fundraisers are a great way to raise money for any cause, including a food drive.

Are you looking to expand your network of donors, leverage current support, and raise money for your cause? Try hosting a peer-to-peer fundraiser.

In a peer-to-peer campaign, dedicated volunteers take on the role of a fundraiser on your behalf and secure funds from family and friends!

Click here to learn all about peer-to-peer fundraising