Thank you for your interest in hosting a food drive to support Josephine County Food Bank’s mission!
Did you know? Your food drive can make the most impact by coupling it with a fund drive! For every 1.2 pounds of food donated, Josephine County Food Bank can provide 1 meal. For every $1 donated to Josephine County Food Bank, we can provide three meals. We are able to do this by leveraging our bulk purchasing power and retail partnerships.
However you conduct them, food drives are an integral part of what we do and we have many ways of supporting your efforts:
- We can provide food collection barrels with large Food Bank branding along with pickup and delivery services
- We can help promote the event by supplying materials to raise awareness such as “most wanted food” posters, small flyers with dates and times for company lunchrooms, break areas, and bulletin boards, etc.
- We can provide receipts for tax deductions as well as pre-addressed donor envelopes
- We can help your publicity efforts by putting you in touch with media contacts
Planning 101
For a successful food drive, follow these steps:
- Contact the Josephine County Food Bank. Our staff is happy to provide resources and answer any questions you may have.
- Select a leader or set up a leadership group. Based on experience, the more organized and dedicated a person is to the food drive, the more successful it will be. A person who can delegate and follow through with the details is a perfect candidate.
- Set a Goal. Knowing how much food you want to collect will help you focus your efforts.
- Decide on the logistics of your event. How and where will you collect the food? Start and end dates for your food drive? How will people find out about your food drive?
- Publicize your drive! Raise awareness about your event so that people know where to donate, how to donate, how long the drive is running, and what items they can bring. Send out announcements and reminders via email, text, and social media, or post them in communal spaces.
- Make it competitive! Bring fun to your food drive by encouraging friendly competition between workplace departments or families. Offer a prize for the winning team!
- Collect your donations. Now it’s time to collect food for your food drive! Continue to collect food for as long as your food drive lasts, making sure to store all food in a safe, dry place.
- Coordinate food delivery to the Josephine County Food Bank. Call us at (541) 479-5556 if you need pickup service. If you have food barrels from us, we will happily come to get them! If you are delivering yourself, please call ahead so we can be prepared for you.
- Celebrate! Congratulations on your food drive! Be sure to thank everyone for their participation. Consider sending a press release to the media, or posting about it online.
Food Drive Ideas
Food drives come in all shapes and sizes. All food drives are appreciated and move our cause forward. Below are several suggestions to help you generate creative ways to collect food.
Hold a Party or Event – Set a goal for how much money you want to raise or amount of food you collect. Discount the admission price with donated cans of food.
Advertising a Raffle or Prize – Offer an additional ticket entry for every time someone brought food to your drive.
Competition and Challenges – Create friendly competition between work groups, or challenge other businesses to create media “buzz.”
Host a “special” event – Walk-a-thons and other activities where you have sponsors that back you financially can yield great results – win or lose, the benefits are for hungry families.
Organizations and “public” areas – Organize food drives in your workplace, church, school, stores, and high traffic areas
Food Drive FAQs
Where can I drop off food? You can drop off all donations at our warehouse. Our warehouse is located at 3658 Upper River Road in Grants Pass. Hours of operation are Monday – Thursday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Can I find out how much my group donated? Absolutely! Please ask to have your total donation weighed when you bring it in to Josephine County Food Bank. If we have picked up your donation, we will follow up with this information. We encourage you to share this information with those who participated!
Should I donate food or funds? Both donations are incredibly appreciated! For every 1.2 pounds of food donated, Josephine County Food Bank can provide 1 meal. For every $1 donated to Josephine County Food Bank, we can provide three meals.
How does the food collected reach people who need it? Once the food is in our warehouse, volunteers will inspect and sort the food. Once the food has been processed, it is immediately made available to our partner agencies. Our partner agencies are organizations like food pantries, meal sites, shelters, schools and daycares, etc. who get the food to people who are struggling with hunger.