The Thinker's Party Blog

With the holidays approaching it’s a time when people are hypersensitive to their communities.  Charitable donations increase, and food drives become ubiquitus in many places.  Particulalry in a year like this one when the number of jobless and homeless people is on the rise and food pantrys are hard hit, it’s important to preserve and reinforce this tradition.

Despite that, hunger doesn’t exist exclusively during the holidays, and the demand on food pantries is likely to increase as the recession continues.  So, now that food drives are on your mind and you’re likely to have some time off work in the near future, begin planning a food drive for March.  Contact your employer to get their support.  Visit your local food pantry and find out what they need.  Though it’s hard to collect in a food drive, fresh produce is often particularly valued at food pantries.  Come up wtih a way that will allow people to donate fresh produce and your drive will be particularly helpful.

To help you with your food drive planning, take a look at some of the following links:

St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance’s food drive tips

Feeding America (fka Second Harvest)’s Hunger Action Center

United Way tip sheet

1. 
   tubgirl0 said...
   5:07 am - December 21st, 2008

   If you’re going to do food drives year round, then it makes sense to include produce in your donations. But if you’re donating this month, I’d suggest going easy on the fresh stuff. They get a far greater portion of their supply during this time of the year, which means if you donate produce now, they may not have a chance to do anything with it. Also, if you donate veggies and such while they’re in season, you can probably donate more for the same amount.