Food Drive Ideas
Are you looking for fun ways to help feed people in your community?
Corporate Punishment
Have a week-long canned food collection, where every can sentence the teacher or principal to one minute in detention, time out, or a fake jail. This can sometimes be successful enough to land the principal in detention for several hours, so be sure they can make a time commitment that day!
Themed Days
Designate certain days during your drive for specific types of food collection (i.e. Tuna Tuesday). Being specific helps participants know what foods are good items to bring and increases variety.
Double Your Donation
Ask if your organization or business will match what your Food or Fund drive collects. They could pledge to match cash donations or to give $1 per can or pound of food.
Skip A Meal
Encourage staff or members to skip lunch or dinner once this week, and donate what they would have spent to the Fund Drive. Going without for one meal is also a great way to help those who participate appreciate the importance of foodbanks to hungry families.
Memorial
Encourage giving in honor or in memory of a loved one.
Raffles
Trade canned food for tickets, and raffle off prime parking spaces, casual-dress days, Sneak-Out-Early passes, extra recess time, etc.
Price of Admission
Host an event, game night or movie, and charge an admission price of 1 can of food. If this is a large event, give a prize for the biggest donation.
Donate Your Weight
Find the total weight of the kids in your classroom (or management staff at your office), and use this number to set the poundage goal for your food drive. Bring everyone in to the foodbank for a tour, and they can all be weighed at once on our warehouse scales – kids love this! Call 304-523-6029 and ask to set up a warehouse tour.
Food Fight
Collaborate with your school’s rival and have a competition to see which school can collect the most cans. Track progress daily to keep momentum in the Food Drive and keep the competition going. Give a prize for the child who donates the most at one time, the one who donates the most during the whole drive, the Food Drive MVP (this might be a teacher), and be sure to recognize your volunteers. This can also work between business rivals or sports teams!
Penny War
Create a competition between classes/ grades/ departments with a Penny War. Label large jars or milk jugs with a team’s name so that it is clear where to drop donations. The twist: The only coins that count toward a team’s total are the pennies and the rest subtract! Sabotage your opponent by putting dollars or silver coins in their jars – kids love this. Keep track of which team is in the lead at the end of each day, and have an incentive for the winner.
Fine Free Days
This fundraiser was especially successful at Marshall University’s Drinko Library: 1 can = $1 off library fines. This could also work for parking fees, etc.