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Want to host a food drive? Here\u2019s how. -STOCK PHOTO<\/p>\n
We all want to do good in our community. The hardest part is knowing how to get started.\n<\/p>\n
Going back to our childhoods, everyone participated in a food collection at some point through their school, church, scouts or another organization.\n<\/p>\n
To this day, food drives remain one of the least complicated forms of community engagement, yet they are few and far between even as demand for food increases. Across Southwest Florida, one in eight individuals \u2013 and one in six children \u2013 are food insecure.\n<\/p>\n
Hunger was approaching crisis levels before federal budget cuts deepened the problem. The government shutdown this fall added stress to families already wondering how they\u2019ll put food on the table. If there ever was a time to start a food drive and help our neighbors experiencing hunger, it is now.\n<\/p>\n
Although food banks appreciate monetary donations, there is a certain feeling that comes with donating something tangible, like a bag of groceries. Starting a food drive is relatively easy:\n<\/p>\n
Determine your food-raising group. It could be a business, church, neighborhood, youth sports team, school or civic group.
\nSet a food-raising goal. Food banks typically measure food in pounds rather than boxes, bags or cans, but designating a specific number is the first step toward achieving a goal.
\nCreate a theme. Ties to holidays help inspire giving, but all successful campaigns have an overriding theme or storyline that resonates with donors.
\nPromote the food drive: Printed flyers, texts, social media posts and word of mouth help generate awareness and increase donations. Be clear about the type of foods you are requesting, when you want it and where donors can drop off items.
\nPlan the delivery: Harry Chapin Food Bank accepts donation drop-offs at its Fort Myers Distribution Center (8 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays) and the Naples Distribution Center (9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays). For donations too large to fit in the back of a pickup truck or van, the food bank will dispatch a box truck to collect the food.<\/p>\n
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Richard LeBer. -COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
Harry Chapin Food Bank welcomes donations of all non-perishable foods. The most-needed and most-requested food items include breakfast bars, canned fish or chicken, dry or canned beans, canned vegetables and fruits, pasta, bottled pasta sauces, cooking oil, dry milk, peanut butter and jelly, rice and canned soups.\n<\/p>\n
Every month, more than 250,000 of our neighbors in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties rely on Harry Chapin Food Bank to put food on the table. Every donation is accepted and appreciated. No one in a community as affluent as ours should ever go hungry. Food drives offer each of us an opportunity to support our neighbors and address hunger head-on.\n<\/p>\n