5 Easy Tips To Ensure Your Next Charity Food Drive Is A Huge Success

Posted by Ben Crook on 2 March 2018

Unfortunately, the current statistics are shocking, with 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted every year, and an increasing number of people relying on food banks to survive. Bridging the gap between food wastage and hunger has never been so important.

As part of our #GivingTuesday campaign in November 2017, our teams across the globe hosted a food drive to help raise awareness of ways to battle food waste and hunger, by donating food, volunteering at food banks, and working closely with a charity who is doing an incredible job of bridging that gap. Here are 5 tips that will help you host a fruitful food drive!

1) Nutrition is key

Food banks across the globe are crying out for healthier food donations. Asking your donors to provide food that has nutritional value will strengthen immune systems, help children perform better at school, and reduce the risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and obesity. These factors can dramatically change the course of someone’s future and not just immediate hunger.

Nutritional food isn’t always the more expensive option or easily perishable, switching from white to brown pasta and rice will make a difference too.

The infographic below from Hunger Task Force should spark a few ideas:

2) Pick a theme

There’s nothing like a good theme to draw people closer to your cause. Consider hosting a food drive in either January, April, or June as these are the months that food banks struggle the most, and tie your theme around a relevant awareness day, for instance Earth Day which falls on April 22^nd. Its likely that the awareness day will be trending on social media, therefore you can capitalise on the amount of people it will draw in, and raise further awareness by associating your initiative with the large engagement potential that social media can provide.

3) Actively spread the word

Promotion is key to a successful campaign, so shout about it as much as you can! Its no good putting in all that effort to plan and organise your food drive, for nobody to know about it! So make sure you put up posters, send out emails, text your friends, and blast it all over your social media channels. The more people you are make an impression on, the more donations and engagement you will get.

4) Set a goal

Set challenging, but achievable goals can be a great incentive to get people to donate, which can help your food drive to stand out from the crowd. Implementing a goal and then asking donors to contribute towards it will help those who can only part with a small amount of money and still feel like they are contributing towards the bigger picture. As Tesco has so brilliantly said over the years, every little helps.

5) Go digital

If the idea of planning, co-ordinating, and running a food drive is enough to scare you away from the prospect, then don’t worry all hope is not lost! A digital food drive could be the answer!

Hosting a digital food drive is an easier and less time-consuming way to raise money to buy the right nutritional food for a shelter. Using an online platform that gives you the space to communicate your goal and motives, will encourage people to participate even if they don’t have access to your food drop off point. This method reduces the stress of logistics and resources, and gives you the option to ask for donations via social media and through your email database. Check out how could you get started with your custom online donation site here.

Want to learn more about charity food drives? Check out how we got on in our #GivingTuesday campaign to raise awareness of food wastage.

Ben Crook

Chief Operating Officer

Ben is at the forefront of every project in Givergy, listing and actioning constant improvements across the business. With over a decade of experience in the charity and events sector he brings a deep understanding of what the fundraising industry needs to operate effectively and efficiently.