Easy Ideas for How Your School Can Help Feed Our Hungry Neighbors

By Guest Blogger Leslie Loyd

We’re all aware that food prices have skyrocketed over the past several years. Supply chain issues, bird flu, droughts, wars, and rising production costs have all played into the sticker shock that we now experience at the grocery store.

At the same time, prices for other necessities have risen, too. Rent prices are up sharply, and transportation, child care, and medical care have increased as well. Too many families are finding that their paychecks just don’t stretch far enough to cover all of the necessities. With limited options, they’re turning to food pantries to help make ends meet.

Get kids involved

Hosting a food drive at your school is beneficial not only for helping local food pantries but also for teaching kids to help one another, show compassion, and work together. Keep reading for some fun and unique options to make your next food drive memorable. 

• Charge admission, payable in canned food. If your school is hosting a fall festival, band or chorus concert, science fair, or sports event, request that each attendee bring a can of food to donate as the price of admission. Another option is to give out free food, drink, or game tickets as a thank-you for canned food donations at events. It’s a great way to combine a fun event with a service project.
• Make service part of your school’s culture. Southwest Elementary in High Point has a different grade level take charge of a specific food drive each month. This month kindergarteners are Vegging Out on Fruit and are collecting canned fruit, applesauce, and fruit juice. Next month first graders will be collecting peanut butter and jelly, and in December second graders will focus on collecting supplies for holiday celebrations, including flour, sugar, cooking spray, and spices. 
• Let the calendar clue you in. Every day, week, and month of the year has multiple themes—Eat a Red Apple Day on December 1, National Granola Bar Day on January 21, National Canned Food Month in February, National Cereal Day on March 7, etc. Tap into these events to create fun food drives.
• Make sure you know where your school’s SHARE refrigerator is. Every school in Guilford County has a refrigerator where students can put their unopened cafeteria food, from a carton of milk to a packet of carrots. Then any child who is hungry for any reason can take food from the SHARE refrigerator, no questions asked. Knowing about the SHARE refrigerator, encouraging your children to use it, and telling others about it helps spread the word that this source of food is available to students. 
• Tie food drives to book themes. Reading Stone Soup calls for a soup collection, The Very Hungry Caterpillar can lead to collecting apples, pears, and strawberries (canned or fresh), Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is perfect for collecting pasta and sauce, and James and the Giant Peach logically leads to collecting all things peach, from jams and jellies to Jello to canned peaches. Several of these books are movies, too, and would make a great movie night fundraiser and food drive.
• Put students in charge of measuring their success. Add a little math by having students count, weigh, and track donations and turn these into graphs and informative announcements to share with the school. Students can even put their STEM skills to work by building structures with the canned food. One local company built an indoor golf course with various holes, all created with canned food. 
• Get artsy. Besides food, sometimes those visiting a food pantry need encouragement, too. Challenge your students to make cards or mini-posters that will bring a smile to food pantry patrons’ faces. 
• Know how to help. If you encounter an individual or family that needs assistance, let them know that the Greater Guilford Food Finder app includes up-to-date listings of local food pantries, community meals, community gardens, etc. It’s a free download and a great resource. Another option to get help is the United Way 2-1-1 phone number, which helps match families and individuals to services. 

When your school is ready to launch a food drive, A Simple Gesture can help you brainstorm ideas, drop off food collection bins, and pick up food to deliver to 23 food pantries across Guilford County. We’re here to help! To kick off your school-led food drive, contact asimplegesturegso@gmail.com or visit https://asimplegesturegso.org.

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