How to Find Food for Food Drives

Canned goods are a welcomed donation at food drives.

It's estimated that around 800 million people around the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, and each year 15 million children die from hunger. Thanks to various communities and individuals, food drives are organized in many parts of the world to donate food to those in need. If you plan on holding a food drive, the first step is letting people know about it and in most cases, the generosity of others comes forward and makes a big difference for those who are less fortunate.

Instructions

1. Advertise the food drive. One of the best ways to promote awareness for any event is through advertising. Depending on your budget, you can take out an ad in a local paper or consider a local radio ad. If you have a small budget, pass out flyers at supermarkets to customers and hang posters in high-traffic areas with all the information about the drive. Include the location and the type of donations you need, such as perishable items.

2. Set up a virtual food drive for those who can't physically drop off food. For the computer-savvy people, a good way to get monetary donations is by setting up a website that allows people to donate through an online payment system such as Paypal. This is convenient for those who may want to donate but don't have the time to purchase food and drop it off at a location. Some food banks allow you to set up your own virtual food drive through their website. Once you have enough monetary donations, you can purchase food items for the drive.

3. Utilize social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Set up a page for your food drive on the social networking sites and tell your friends and family. Facebook, for example, allows you to "create an event," and once you add all the information for the food drive, you can promote it through the site. Emails are another way to contact a large number of people at one time to let them know about the food drive.

References

• Second Harvest Food Bank: Start Your Own Food Drive
• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank: Virtual Food Drive
• Oracle Think Quest: The World Hunger Problem

Resources

• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank: Virtual Food Bank