Food Drive Ideas

In honor of National Nutrition Month in March, Spring into Action and host a food drive at your place of business, school, apartment complex, etc. Increased nutrient rich options can include: canned fruits & vegetables, low-sodium soups, and plain oatmeal - all of which will ensure nutritious groceries for AFAC's neighbors in need this Spring. Use AFAC's Spring Flyer template to promote your food drive!

Help AFAC collect heart-healthy non-perishable foods. Items like low-sodium soups, vegetables, and proteins (tuna, salmon, chicken, beans) will keep our families and senior clients eating warm and heart-healthy meals throughout the winter months! Create flyers that list AFAC's most-needed foods using our flyer templates.

Make it a Day-ON, not a Day-OFF! Consider taking part in the National Day of Service to commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by collecting food donations from your neighbors, faith community, school, or local supermarket! You can pick up food drive boxes from AFAC in advance and customize your own flyer. Donations will be accepted at AFAC's Headquarters on the following day from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.

AFAC experiences its highest number of family visits during the months of November and December. This is a great time of year for offices, apartment buildings, and community groups to rally together to collect food for AFAC's families in need!

Grocery store food drives are a terrific way to spend the afternoon with your family, friends, or colleagues and a great way to collect a lot of food in a short amount of time! This is also a great way for students who need to log volunteer hours.

First, need to ask the manager at your local grocery store if they'll allow you to collect food donations outside their storefront on a Saturday or Sunday. Then, create and print flyers that list AFAC's most-needed foods using our flyer templates. Collect donations in an AFAC food drive box and deliver the collected food to AFAC during food drop-off hours.

This is a great activity for teens, families, and great students who need to log volunteer hours.

Flyers can be distributed door-to-door in your neighborhood providing your neighbors with information about AFAC and requesting that they leave food donations on their doorstep by a certain time and day. It's best to give your neighbors a week to collect donations from home or the grocery store.

On the pick-up day, you can go door-to-door throughout your neighborhood, picking up the bagged donations from their doorsteps. You can deliver the collected food to AFAC's Headquarters Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm or Saturday, 8:30am -1:00pm.

Cereal is a constant need here at AFAC. Whether in school or on vacation, kids and families need a balanced breakfast to help them stay focused and full all day long. Consider collecting low-sugar cereal (think Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Grape-Nuts, etc.) from your community to provide Arlington families and kids with healthy breakfasts. Cereal collection is a great activity for a school-wide food drive!

Consider charging "food admissions" for an event, party, or school production. The admission price for the event is a certain number of food items; for example, 3 cans or 1 box of cereal. You can ask your community to sponsor miles, laps, or hours as part of a marathon, swim-a-thon, or dance-a-thon.

Help spread awareness about food insecurity in Arlington during the month of September while collecting donations for your neighbors in need. Canvas your neighborhood and rally your teammates - together we can put an end to hunger! Click here to see details for Hunger Action Month.

Every summer, the USDA spearheads the Feds Feed Families campaign, encouraging all Federal agencies, including field components, to collect fresh produce and non-perishable food donations for food pantries nationwide. If you're in the Arlington area, consider bringing your Feds Feed Families donations to AFAC!

Emergency Food Kits (EFK) are given to clients with immediate needs by Arlington County social workers. Each EFK will supply one day’s worth of food for two people. Your group would purchase the food and package the kits in your own meeting space. AFAC will provide you with specific bags to assemble the Emergency Food Kits. Contact fooddrives@afac.org for instructions on how to register your EFK food drive.