Fun Ideas
 
 
 
Tips for success
  • Create a food drive planning committee. Select a coordinator and plan your strategy to lead the drive, and appoint team captains to take charge of promotion, kick-off events and competitions.
  • Get management support. Have your company match or double employee contributions with dollars. Involve senior management.
  • Get the word out. Display posters in high-traffic areas. Publicize the drive in your publications/bulletins. Leave email messages and make announcements at meetings. Have a Marion-Polk Food Share representative make a presentation.
  • Make it fun. Build momentum with daily updates on your progress. Challenge other departments or competing corporations.
  • Sponsor a “Thank You” event. Give prizes to the department that raises the most food. Add fun categories: most enthusiastic collectors, most beans or rice, etc.
  • Create a display or centerpieces for a dinner party with suggested food items to donate. Use “family-size” products to encourage larger-size donations.
  • Designate days of the week for specific food donations: i.e. Macaroni Monday, Tuna Tuesday, Wheaties Wednesday, Turkey Thursday, Fruity Friday.
  • Hold a “Canned Immunity” day. For example, forgive library fines, being out of uniform or free admissions for canned food donations.
  • Sponsor a canned food sculpture contest. See www.canstruction.com for inspiration.
  • Develop a name or theme for your drive.
  • Hold an event or meeting with cans of food as admission.
  • Ask for food donations in lieu of gifts at birthday or holiday parties.

Theme ideas

  • TGIF (Take Groceries in Friday)
  • Meat the Need (canned meat drive)
  • Make Every Bean Count (canned or dried beans drive)
  • Fill ‘er Up (Fill a bus, truck, shopping cart, or some unlikely container with food donations)
  • Fill a children’s wading pool with cans of tuna
  • “Plant a Garden” with canned vegetables
  • Fill in the Lines (Draw or mark an outline on a gym floor, athletic field, or fellowship hall with an area to fill in with food donations).
  • Build a “Mountain of Macaroni” in common places
  • Kids Packs (Macaroni & Cheese, alphabet soup, pudding and fruit packs, sugar-free applesauce, cereal bars, crackers, juice)
  • Winter’s coming (winter food items like stew and soup)
  • Breakfast for Dinner (collect cereal, pancake mix, syrup, oatmeal, grits, etc.)
  • Coffee Break food drive (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, powdered creamer, crackers)
  • Lunch and Dinner food drive (boxed meals, tuna, canned chicken, instant mashed potatoes, canned pasta meals, beef stew, chili, soups, dry beans, rice)