Food Drive Informational Packet - Westmoreland County Food Bank

Mommy,I’mhungry…Care to share?Food DriveInformationalPacketThank you for your interest in a food drive to helpthose less fortunate in your community.Our Vision: End Hunger in Westmoreland County.This information was assembled to encourage more donations and simplify theprocess for the facilitator. If you have any questions, please contactLouise Wilhelm at 724-468-8660, Ext. 13 or louise@westmorelandfoodbank.org.For a food pick up contact Doug Miller at Ext. 26.Steps for a successful food drive:1. Appoint someone to be in charge. Let them be creative!2. Learn more about Westmoreland County Food Bank and what we do. Ourwebsite is full of information.3. Set a goal for your drive. (monetary and/or food)4. Choose your date/s for the food drive. Food is needed year-round.5. Create an Online Tribute Fund, where donations can be made in your group’sname. See steps enclosed.6. Motivate your group by offering incentives. (optional)7. Decide if you would like to collect specific types of items and/or monetarydonations.8. Place collection bins in key locations. We have bins with our logo on them orboxes available for your use upon request.9. Advertise your food drive to those who might participate.Use posters, email blasts, flyers, stickers, newsletters, internal website, ordistribute bags, etc.10. Make arrangements for delivery/pick up of donated food. See contact above.Warehouse hours are M-F between 8-3 p.m.www.westmorelandfoodbank.org

Suggested Themes:• Golf- “Fore” the Hungry • Baseball- Pitch in Food• Football-Tackle Hunger • Olympics- Food is Gold• Kids- Kick in for the Kids • Thanksgiving- Gobbler DriveSpecific Types of Drives:• Paper Drive- only collect paperitems, such as toilet paper, papertowels, diapers, tissues, etc.• Toiletries Drive- only collect soap,toothpaste, shampoo, etc.• Turkey Drive- collect monies tohave WCFB purchase $10 Turkeyvouchers for families during theholidays.• Thanksgiving Drive- only collectitems for Thanksgiving Dinner,excluding the Turkey• Soap Drive- collect detergents,soap and non toxic cleaningsupplies, etc.• Summer Food Service Program(May)- collect items needed forsites, such as dishwashingdetergent, Clorox bleach, papertowels, garbage bags, etc.Incentives encourage participation. Some suggested incentives are:• Anyone who donates, receives achance to win a raffle for a giftcertificate, ½ day off work, dressdownday, amusement park tickets,movie tickets, etc.• Anyone who donates will be invitedto a special company luncheon.• Create a competition betweendepartments, with the winnerreceiving a pizza party or otherspecial recognition.• Give a patch to scouts whoparticipate.Monetary Donations/Tribute Fund-on line:A Tribute Fund can be easily designed on our website by someone with support of our Web/ProgramDirector, Deana Pastor. See attached page for “How to create a tribute page on our website”. Cash orcheck donations made payable to WCFB are also accepted and can be forwarded to our Delmont officeat 100 Devonshire Drive, Delmont, PA 15626.Email Blasts/Flyer:In this day of technology, what better way to reach 100’s of people at a time who may want toparticipate in your food drive. We have created an email blast for your convenience that can becustomized. Just ask Louise to email it to you. You may also consider creating one all your own.An 8 ½” X 11” flyer is available upon request.Scout Patches:Generic “food drive” or “community service” patches are available and must be ordered at scoutingoffices in your community.Stickers:We have developed an Avery 5095 (nametag size) sheet of stickers that can be printed and customizedfor your use. These could be handed out as reminders to potential donors or applied to bags for themto take home.Posters:For your convenience, we have also designed a 11”X 17” poster that can be placed at strategiclocations throughout your location/facility. This is available upon request.Collection Bins:We suggest large boxes or watermelon bins, if you expect a lot of food. The food bank has a limitednumber of food drive receptacles available for this purpose. Just let us know.

Facts about Westmoreland County Food Bank• Our vision is to end hunger in Westmoreland County.• Your $1 donation converts to $5 of food for us, since we can buy in bulk.• Your $5 donation equals 8 meals.• $65 is our average cost for one family’s monthly food box.• For 30 years we have served the needy in Westmoreland County.• In 2011, we distributed approximately 8.5 million pounds of food through ourprograms.• We serve as many as 7200 households or approximately 15,000 individuals eachmonth through our 50 pantry sites and 27 other agencies, including soupkitchens and 4 shelters.• Approximately 4000 are children, who are considered at risk and in need ofnutritious food to develop properly.• Many are the working poor, seniors, disabled or unemployed.• Approximately 50% of our food is acquired through federal and state programs.The rise in the cost of food, transportation and utilities, an increase of peopleneeding food, in addition to the loss of federally purchased commodities hascreated the “perfect storm” for food banks across the United States.• We must depend on food drives and the support of the community to meet ourneeds.• We are partners with Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network, UnitedWay of Westmoreland County and PA Association of Regional Food Banks(PARF).• We are governed by a volunteer board of directors and have 24 staff.• We advocate for the poor and are actively involved in legislations both at thestate and federal levels.• 6000 valued volunteers gave approximately 92,000 hours of service in 2011.• WCFB programs include:o Monthly Pantry Distribution Program provides a monthly food box tohouseholds who meet our income guidelines, which are at 150% of the federalpoverty level.o Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is a state funded programproviding seniors with extra food, who meet income guidelines.o Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federal program serving childrenlunch and/or breakfast during the summer at approximately 25-30 sites in thecounty.o Operation Fresh Express is a mobile food distribution program providinghouseholds with fresh produce, perishables, etc. on a weekly basis somewherein the county.o Face Hunger is an education experience, where participants can role play andlearn about what it’s like to be hungry.o Gleaning is when volunteers gather what is left in the fields for the sake of thehungry. Many local farms participate.Please consider donating to:Westmoreland County Food Bank100 Devonshire DriveDelmont, PA 15626724-468-8660www.westmorelandfoodbank.org

Food Drive GuidelinesSuggested items needed:Food Items:Cereal Spaghetti sauce in cans RiceHearty Soups Pasta Peanut butterCanned vegetables or fruits Canned juice Salad dressingNon Food Items:Body soap Shampoo Toilet tissueToothpaste Diapers Paper towelsDeodorant Feminine products Laundry and dish detergentAll donated items must :• Be non-perishable. This would include any canned or boxed items, juices, pasta,canned meats, sauces, prepared food, etc.• Have original manufacturer’s label. If the label of an item is missing, we will not beable to redistribute the item.• Be free from obvious defect or contamination. This could include “popped tops” oncans, bloated cans, mold or rust on cans, bottles, etc.We cannot accept the following:• Homemade goods or home canned goods.• Pesticides/herbicides• Toxic chemicals such as motor oil or oven cleaners• Prescription drugs• Any item that has been opened or the seal is broken.When boxing, please separate soaps from food products!During Hunger Action Month (September), you may use the following logo in your ads:

Mommy,I’mhungry!Care to share?Food DriveSponsored by:Dates:Nonperishable items only!Donate on line at:www.westmorelandfoodbank.orgConsider donating tothe Impact Fund

Stickers- Avery 5095Mommy,I’mhungry!Mommy,I’mhungry!Care toShare?Care toshare?Food Drive Dates:Nonperishable items only!Donate on line at:Food Drive Dates:Nonperishable items only!Donate on line at:Mommy,I’mHungry!Mommy,I’mhungry!Care toShare?Care toshare?Food Drive Dates:Nonperishable items only!Donate on line at:Food Drive Dates:Nonperishable items only!Donate on line at:Mommy,I’mHungry!Mommy,I’mHungry!Care toshare?Care toshare?Food Drive Dates:Nonperishable items only!Donate on line at:Food Drive Dates:Nonperishable items only!Donate on line at:Mommy,I’mHungry!Mommy,I’mHungry!Care toshare?Care toshare?Food Drive Dates:Nonperishable items only!Donate on line at:Food Drive Dates:Nonperishable items only!Donate on line at:

Steps to create a Tribute Page to promote your food drive on our website:1. Go to www.westmorelandfoodbank.org2. Move your cursor over “How to Help” on the top of the home page in green.3. A drop-down menu will appear, click on “Hunger’s Hope Tribute Funds”4. You will see a page asking you to find/create one of the following: Honorary Fund,Memorial Fund, Personal Fund. If your Food Drive is not in someone’s memory orhonor, you will want to choose “Personal Fund”5. A new page will open, click on “Create a Fund”6. You will see the following page:7. Select Fund Type: Choose the circle next to what type of Fund you are creating8. Enter Fund Name: You want to choose a name that will set your Food Drive apartfrom others9. Tell Your Story: This is where you tell people what you are trying to accomplish,what kinds of items you are looking for in your Food Drive

10. Upload an Image for your Fund Web Page: This is not a requirement. If you have apicture you would like to use on your page, click the “Browse” button and find whereyou have it saved on your computer. After you select the image, click “upload image’.11. Fundraising Goal: This is how much money you would like this page to raise towardyour Food Drive or campaign.12. Enter Fund Description: This is a small statement that will set your page apart fromany similar ones13. Make Fund Page Private: Only click this box if you do not want anyone else to beable to find your Tribute Page (NOT RECOMMENDED)14. Enter your Information: This should be filled out by the lead person running theFood Drive or a contact person.15. Waiver: Check the box if you agree to the terms.Champion Center: You can use the user name and password you created in step 14 to log onand change/update any information on your Tribute Page. You can also create a personalizedURL. For example, if you are trying to collect apples for the Food Bank, your personal URLcould be www.westmorelandfoodbank.org/goto/applesIf you have any questions about Tribute Pages, contact Deana at (724) 468-8660 ext. 29 oremail her at deana@westmorelandfoodbank.org