• Include one in employee paycheck envelopes
• Distribute in mailboxes or leave one at each person’s desk
• Include in students’ weekly envelopes sent home to parents
• Include one in congregation bulletins
3. Encourage financial donations through the Virtual Food Drive. The Virtual Food Drive is one of the simplest and most effective ways to donate to the Food Bank. It’s easy, fun, and can be done right from your desk. Donations are credited immediately to your drive without any extra paperwork.
• The Virtual Food Drive allows participants to see how far the Food Bank can stretch their dollars. Users have an online shopping experience while learning how much more Community Food Bank can purchase than they could at the store.
4. Place Food and Fund Drive promotional materials in high traffic areas. Place barrels, posters, and coin cans in reception areas, break rooms, cafeterias, and classrooms.
5. Track your progress in a fun and prominent way. Let your participants know how they’re doing towards their goal. Post signage in public areas and send out reminders to let people know how much they have accomplished and what they have left to do to succeed.
6. Organize a group volunteer opportunity to come to Community Food Bank and sort food. It’s a great team building activity and allows participants a chance to see the Food Bank and get more involved.
Community Food Bank will provide all the basic supplies you'll need at no cost.
BARRELS: We will deliver food collection barrels for your drive. Full barrels are picked up and the food donations are weighed and recorded by our staff.
How Many Barrels Should I Order?
One barrel holds approximately 150 pounds of food. We suggest you take your "food poundage goal" and divide it by 150 to determine the number of barrels you will need.
Due to limited resources, the Food Bank is unable to deliver orders of less than three barrels during the Holiday Season. If you only need one or two barrels between October and January, you can pick them up at our distribution warehouses at 3403 E. Central Avenue in Fresno. Once your barrels are full or your drive is over, we will happily pick up your barrels.
Food Drive Manual (Download this manual that has great ideas and materials to promote your drive and special events.
DONATION ENVELOPES
We can provide envelopes to distribute to participants to collect donations. Envelopes can be mailed directly to Community Food Bank or collected by the drive coordinator.
Delivery and Pickup Dates
Once you have set your drive dates, decide what days you will need your materials delivered and picked up.
• We suggest scheduling at least one pickup when enrolling for your drive. Please note: delivery and pickup dates around Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to fill up very quickly. We will do our best to accommodate your requested date.
• Unfortunately, we are unable to schedule exact appointment times because our routing is based on the number of deliveries and locations for a particular day, making our operation more efficient. All deliveries and pickups occur between 6:30am and 2:30pm, however, if you call on the day of your appointment, we can give you a smaller window of time.
• All changes or additions to your orders should be made a minimum of two business days prior to the scheduled date.
• For safety reasons, drivers are required to use elevators when accessing additional levels. Please do not place barrels on upper levels that do not have elevator access.
• Drivers cannot accept cash at pickup.
WHAT IF MY BARRELS ARE FULL BEFORE MY PICKUP DATE?
If your barrels are full before your drive is over, we are happy to schedule a barrel exchange. Our drivers will bring empty barrels to your location and pick up your full ones. Please call Kristin Carlson at 559-237-3663 ext 103 to make arrangements.
HOW DO I DEAL WITH OVERFLOW OF FOOD?
If you have an overflow of food, please place it in boxes and estimate how many barrels it would fill. Be sure to contact the Food Bank two business days prior to scheduled pickup to notify us of the additional food.