5 Tips for an Effective Food Drive

Published On: November 14th, 2022By Christina GunningCategories: Must Read1.9 min read

Food drives are an easy way to bring your community together to make a difference for our neighbors facing hunger. Filling up a food box offers a tangible way to see the impact of your efforts. We’ve put together our top five food drive tips to help make your next Feeding San Diego food drive as effective as possible.

1. Connect with us before you start your drive.

The needs of our community are always changing. If you reach out to us first, we can give you the most up-to-date info about what foods we need and coordinate all the details with you. Before you launch your drive, fill out our Food Drive Request Form with all the relevant information about your drive. Our volunteer team will contact you with more details about getting started.

2. Consider focusing on one item.

We have a short list of items we prefer based on their nutritional value and other factors. For example, we currently request ready-to-eat meals like soups, chilis, and canned pasta. When you set up your drive, our team can let you know what item we need the most. Challenge your supporters to focus on one of these items instead of a random assortment.

Jars of peanut butter collected by a food drive

3. Add fundraising to the mix.

Some people may not want to purchase and donate food but still want to support your efforts. Offer them the opportunity to donate funds instead! You can set up a fundraiser to go along with your drive so you can keep track of how much you raise.

4. Get your network involved.

Tell your friends and family about your food drive, and tell them how they can get involved. Sharing photos of your progress is a great way to spread the word on social media and direct people to a drop-off location.

5. Consider starting a fundraiser instead.

As we all know, prices at the grocery store are incredibly inflated right now. With the purchasing power behind the Feeding America network, we can turn $1 into two meals and stretch every dollar donated!