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Download the "Food and Fund Drive Kit" for ideas to help you organize a food drive.

The Idaho Foodbank participates in three major and many smaller food drives each year. These drives are vitally important because they allow us to provide the wide variety of food people need for complete nutrition. The three largest food drives every year are:

• National Association of Letter Carriers National Association of Letter Carriers sponsors the largest food drive of the year each May. This year, for their 15th annual drive, the letter carriers collected 196,000 pounds of valuable, shelf-stable, donated foods. It was the second largest food drive in Foodbank history. Read the press release HERE

• Scouting for Food, Scouting for Food, sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America, is held every November. In 2001, Scouts throughout the Treasure Valley collected a record 84,756 pounds of food for The Idaho Foodbank, despite terrible weather. The previous high was 70,088 pounds collected in 1999. Last year's total was 67,592 pounds.

• Feeding the 5000 Families food drive occurs every February and March in Pocatello. This drive was organized in 1998 by a Sunday School teacher who wanted her class to develop a better understanding of the Bible and experience the joy of helping others. It has grown to include some 30 different churches each year in the Pocatello area. This drive is also important because it is conducted during months when donations are slow but the need is still great.

1. Organize:

• Set a date for the drive.
• Decide on a theme, type of drive, and the duration of the drive.
• Select drive leaders: dependable people with good leadership skills, and time.
• Orient your drive leaders: explain the need for food, confirm dates, explain drive procedures, and review company policies.

2. Publicize:

• Set a goal for your drive.
• Contact The Idaho Foodbank for help with advertising and press releases to radio, newspaper, and television.
• Create a slogan that relates to your company or school.
• Send out the suggested food list provided by the Foodbank.

3. Put People To Work:

• Distribute materials
• Put posters up where people can see them- by coffee machines, next to time clocks, etc.
• Decorate collection boxes/barrels.
• Introduce the drive through employee information systems such as meetings or E-mail.

4. Drive!

• E-mail reminders periodically with bits of facts about hunger in Idaho.
• Display the food that has been received.
• Give prizes for volunteers and food donors.
• Get your company to match donations (for example a turkey for every 100 pounds of food brought in).
• Hold an event and ask people to bring cans of food for admission.
• Give each student or employee a bag to fill with food for the drive.
• Invite all who participated to a victory party after the drive
• Send a final press release to the paper with information about the success of the drive.