Q. Why should we have a food and funds drive?

A. The Cleveland Foodbank works to alleviate hunger in our community by providing over 450 member agencies with food, select non-food products, training, and planning strategies. These member charities then directly serve the hungry. In 2009, the Foodbank distributed over 27.3 million pounds of food to its member charities and other foodbanks. That was enough food for our charities to prepare over 21 million meals for struggling men, women, and children in greater Cleveland!

Nearly half of the people that receive these meals are either children under the age of 18 or seniors citizens over the age of 65. A recent Ohio Hunger Task Force report found one million children suffering from chronic hunger in Ohio. Children need healthy food to learn and grow. The meals provided by the Cleveland Foodbank and its member agencies may be the only nutritious food that some of these hungry children receive.

Q. How will our donations be used?

A. The food collected from food drives will be distributed by the Cleveland Foodbank to food pantries, hot meal sites, shelters, children's programs, institutions for the mentally challenged and rehabilitation centers.

The money you donate will be used to distribute food to these local charities. For every $1 donated, the Foodbank is able to distribute enough food to prepare four nutritious meals for the hungry in the Cleveland area.

Q. Where should we take the food and money we collect?

A. Box the food in like boxes that can be stacked and securely closed. Record the pounds of food and money collected. Arrange to have your contributions dropped off at the Foodbank between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (Monday through Friday). We consider your transportation of food to the Foodbank as a part of your generous donation. You can reach the Foodbank at 216.738.2265. Our address is 15500 South Waterloo Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44110.

How to have a fun and successful food and funds drive.

The better the planning, the better the drive will be. Establish a committee to determine the goals, dates, and duration of the drive. Choose a theme (i.e., Charter One Carves Out Hunger) and create a campaign or event that can build each year.

The key to making your food and funds drive a success is communication, and plenty of it. Letting your office, apartment complex, or school know about your food and funds drive in advance is vital to the success of your efforts. Repeatedly announcing the dates, times and places where collection will take place, and letting people know why you are hosting a food and funds drive is very important.

Once you know the results of the drive, let everyone know how much they contributed to fight hunger. Remind them that hunger exists throughout the year, and that they are a part of the solution. Please thank any donors who contributed to your drive.

Tried and true: promotional ideas that work

• Decorate collection barrels or boxes. Get ideas from your theme, a coming holiday, or your company's products. Set up contests among departments for the most imaginative collection bin.
• Provide employees with some sort of container, perhaps paper sacks, boxes or envelopes, on which you've put your company's logo or your food and funds drive theme.
• Remind people about the campaign using the following communication outlets:
  • flyers;
  • newsletter articles;
  • posters;
  • meetings or announcements;
  • bulletin boards & e-mail;
  • public address scripts.
• Remind people that the most needed food items are:
  • cereal (boxed);
  • soup (canned);
  • tuna fish (canned);
  • beef stew (canned);
  • peanut butter;
  • vegetables (canned).
• Provide employees with data on the hunger problem in your community and information about the Cleveland Foodbank.
• End the food and funds drive with a closing ceremony. Thank employees for their efforts, give the grand total and present any awards or prizes.

  The Cleveland Foodbank staff would love to hear how your food and funds drive is progressing! Please call Lindsay Doerr at 216.738.2046 with any questions or to share your results. If possible, please send copies of any materials to the Cleveland Foodbank at 15500 South Waterloo Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44110 or fax them to 216.738.1604.

  CREATIVE SPECIAL EVENTS

  BAKE SALE: Have employees donate baked goods and sell them to others in the company or to neighboring companies. Inform neighboring companies of the sale and invite them to participate.

  DRESS DOWN DAY: This event is perfect for companies with formal dress codes. Participants pay $5, for example, to dress down for a day. Pass out buttons or put up signs that display the reason for dressing down.

  RAFFLE: This is perhaps the easiest way to raise money. You sell tickets for a chance to win money or a prize. When all tickets are sold, select a winning ticket at random. The most effective way to raise money is through a raffle of donated prizes. Ask your vendors or clients to contribute!

  AUCTION: Have employees donate anything from a home-baked pie to a weekend at their vacation cottage. You can also solicit donations of gift certificates and other items from area merchants.

  LUNCH : Sell pizza and pop for lunch one day. A local restaurant might donate the pizza or sell it to you at a reduced cost for your cause. Ask for donations in writing and follow-up with a phone call.

  CONTESTS: Promote competition between departments by holding different contests. Whichever department collects the most food wins a lunch or ice cream social. One company holds a "Food Collection Display Decorating Contest".

  COOKBOOK: Produce a cookbook featuring employees' favorite recipes. Sell them to employees, customers, vendors and friends.

  COIN WARS: Plan a penny war at your organization. Each department collects change in a container. Employees throw bills into the container of another department in order to "cancel out" that department's change. In other words, change in the container equals positive points, bills equal negative points. The team with the most positive points at the end of the war wins.