Organize a Food + Fund Drive

Community food and fund drives provide nutritious food and vital operating funds for Oregon Food Bank while raising awareness of hunger issues in our communities.

A tough economy and high unemployment have pushed demand for emergency food to record levels, making community support more important than ever. A huge thank you to the hundreds of schools, offices, faith-based groups and others who organize food and fund drives.

Your efforts make a big difference for the more than 260,000 people each month who eat meals from emergency food boxes.

Both food and funds matter

Cash donations keep our freezers running and our trucks on the road. They also support our innovative programs to address the root causes of hunger through advocacy and education. Monetary donations also allow OFB to purchase bulk food to be repacked by volunteers. Because we make large, bulk purchases, our cost per pound of food is far lower than that of food bought at retail prices by individuals.

Food drives provide some of the healthiest and highest-quality food OFB receives. Food donations provide a link between you, the donor, and people who are hungry.

Getting started

Running a food drive is easy and fun! Here are a few tips to make the process go smoothly.

Identify a reasonable goal based on how long you'll run the drive and how many people you expect to participate.

Decide how you will collect the donated food. Depending on the size of your drive, boxes work well. You are also welcome to pick up a barrel at our warehouse. Get directions.

Decide what materials you'll need. We have posters, donor envelopes, and fact sheets available. To request materials, contact an event coordinator at 503-439-6510, Ext. 3390, or eventscoordinator@oregonfoodbank.org.

Let us know about your drive! Fill out our registration and materials request form. If you plan to collect more than 500 pounds of food, OFB can deliver a barrel for your drive. You can request barrels along with posters and other materials on our online form.

Keep enthusiasm high! Send e-mails, make posters, hold contests or think of your own ways to keep interest high. See our list of fun food and fund drive ideas.

Once your drive is complete, arrange to deliver food to OFB. Find drop-off locations.

Helpful links

Read our food and fund drive kit
See our list of most wanted foods
Request a food drive barrel (for drives over 500 pounds)
See our food drop-off sites

Efficient and effective

More than 94 percent of every dollar donated to OFB goes directly to fighting hunger in our communities.
Your $10 donation enables OFB to move more than 40 pounds of food through the network. That's equivalent to about 30 meals.

“I skipped meals a lot when the kids were growing up. I would like to see every person in Congress — right up to the president — come and live in our shoes for one month and figure out how to survive. Here’s what it’s coming down to: you have to sell everything you own — your house, your cars, everything — just to survive.”

- Sandy
Colton

Read the Voices Report