HOW TO HOLD A FUND AND FOOD DRIVE 30 Years of

HOW TO HOLD A
FUND AND FOOD DRIVE
TM
30 Years of
“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope”
TM
Homeland Grocery Stores • OGE Energy Corp. • Riverwind Casino
United Supermarkets • United Way of Central Oklahoma
American Fidelity Foundation • BancFirst • Bank of Oklahoma • Express Employment Professionals
First United Bank • Mercy Health System of Oklahoma • Oklahoma City Firefighters IAFF Local # 157
SandRidge Energy, Inc. • Seagate Technology
www.regionalfoodbank.org
OVERVIEW
The Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers Food Drive runs May 2 - 27. The goal is to raise 900,000 pounds of food
and $800,000 with the help of local businesses and letter carriers across the state.
The National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive, which is May 14th, is held nationwide and is the largest
single-day food drive in the country. Plastic bags will be distributed by letter carriers across the state the week
of May 9th. Residents are encouraged to fill these bags with canned goods and leave the bag by their
mailboxes by 7 a.m. Letter carriers will collect the bags on their mail routes.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
The 2010 Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers’ Food Drive was a huge success! Letter carriers and more than 100
businesses collected nearly 857,000 pounds of food and $700,000, which provided more than 5.5 million
meals for hungry Oklahomans.
(1)
you help Families Through Life’s Trials
WHY YOUR PARTICIPATION MATTERS
Antonette’s 9-year-old daughter
loves to play basketball. She plays on a
local team with other girls her age and
practices with her 8-year-old brother
every chance she gets.
Antonette says her daughter almost didn’t get
to play in her first game this season. But it wasn’t
because of an injury or illness – it was because
Antonette and her husband simply couldn’t afford
the $12 team uniform her daughter needed.
“i have nothing left,” she says, wiping away tears.
Antonette and her husband never used to
worry about making ends meet. they both had
steady jobs – he worked as a security guard and
she had a management position. But everything
changed three years ago when her husband was shot
by an intruder at work. Despite several surgeries, he
remains unable to return to his job.
Shortly after her husband’s injury, Antonette
lost her job. She’s been receiving unemployment
assistance, but she just got her last check. Her husband
has gone back to school full-time to get a degree in
criminal justice so he can get a better job and provide
for his family again, but right now, they don’t have any
source of income. With a mortgage, bills and groceries
for four people – including two growing kids – their
resources are being stretched thin quickly.
Antonette says it makes her sick to think about not
being able to feed her children. they’ve applied for food
stamps but were denied assistance since her husband is
in school. right now, they just need a little extra help to
make sure their kids get enough to eat.
Fortunately, food is one thing Antonette doesn’t
have to worry about. thanks to your gifts to the
regional Food Bank of oklahoma, she can take home
nutritious groceries from the food pantry at St. John
united Methodist church. this Food Bank partner
agency provides important grocery staples to about
60 families in need each week.
This is the first time Antonette has ever come to a
food pantry for help – and she’s so grateful that friends
like you have given to help families in need like hers.
“ thank you, thank you for helping people!” she
says. “ to know when you go home, there’s gonna be
something for dinner...my family appreciates it.”
Thousands of Oklahomans, like Antonette, are helped by your donations
to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma every day.
To learn more about the people that you’re helping, visit
http://www.regionalfoodbank.org/Take-Action/Newsletter
Thank you for your support!
(2)
3
FOOD AND FUND DRIVE IDEAS
• Hold competitions between departments (accounting vs. sales!), decorate your food drive boxes and
sponsor a pizza party for the winning team.
• Encourage customers and vendors to participate by offering a discount on goods and/or services with a
food donation.
• If you exceed your goal, challenge your manager or CEO to do something outlandish (dance or sing in front
of the staff), or see if your company will match all employee donations.
• Canstructure - Have different departments build items out of canned goods. Employees could vote with
change on the structure they like best. The winning team would receive a prize.
• Denim Days - Denim Days are one of the easiest and most effective ways to raise money in workplaces.
Employees can pay $5 to dress down for a day. Give every employee who participates a sticker, so they can
show their support.
• The Guessing Game - The simplest version is a large jar filled with virtually any item as long as it takes a lot
of them to fill the jar. Candy is a great item. Participants then pay $1 to guess how many items are in the
jar. The closest guess wins the contents of the jar.
• Rock the Vote - Have employee vote with donations for an executive who will have to complete an agreed
upon activity. The individual with the most votes may have to kiss a cow, shave their head, or be hit in the
face with a pie.
• Ice Cream Social - What better way to get ready for summer than an all you can eat ice cream social!
Employees/students would give a donation for all the scrumptious ice cream and toppings their stomachs
can hold.
• Bake Sale - Ask your employees to put on their baking caps and try out a new recipe. Cookies, candies,
cakes, pastries—anything sweet will do. You can charge by the plate or per item. Leftovers? Don’t worry
have a 1/2 price sale at the end of the day.
• Executive Service - Ask your management staff, Board of Directors, or school principals to serve breakfast
or lunch to everyone. Employees will give a donation to have their meal served to them by management.
• Challenges - Have different departments challenge each other to see who will raise the most meals. Keep
a running tally posted in a visible area. Offer a pizza party or doughnut breakfast to the winning group. A
little healthy competition never hurt anyone.
If you are looking for more ideas check out best
practices from Devon Energy, American Fidelity,
First United Bank, and Mercy Hospital at
http://www.youtube.com/regionalfoodbank
(3)
FOOD AND FUND DRIVE RULES
1.
All food must be received and weighed by the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, or a partner
agency, before the end of the day on June 2, 2011. All fund donations (DO NOT MAIL CASH) need to be mailed to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, or picked up by the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, before June 2, 2011.
2.
Food will be weighed and documented. Your business will receive a receipt of total poundage at the end of June.
3.
Please do not contribute glass containers, bottled water, homemade items, or perishable items that could break and contaminate other donations.
4.
Notify and energize your employees via your business website, newsletters, Twitter and Facebook,
and email blasts.
5.
Establish your fund and food drive collection goals. Remember that one can of food = 1 pound and a
$1 donation = 9 pounds of food.
6.
Set up collection bins for fund and food donations. Monetary fund donations should be kept in a
designated and secure location.
7.
You need to have food in a central area and instructions need to be left at the front desk for volunteers who are picking up food.
8.
Please remember to tape the bottom of your food drive boxes before you fill them with donations.
Remember:
$1 donation = 9 pounds of food
One can donated = 1 pound of food
The most needed non-perishable
food donations include:
• Canned Meats
• Meat-Based Soups
• Canned Fruits
• Canned Vegetables
• Peanut Butter
• Canned Beans
Please - no homemade or glass items.
Sample of a food drive box decorated by a
business holding a food drive.
(4)
Feedoklahoma.org
Every dollar that your business raises will be converted into nine pounds of food.
Parents, friends and family can support your food drive by making a fund donation!
Send all cash donations to the attention of Angie Gaines at the Regional Food Bank to
receive credit (see page 6), or make a donation online at www.regionalfoodbank.org.
Please type the name of your business on the donation form so you will be properly
credited.
Set up a fundraising page online at feedoklahoma.org. Set your fundraising goal and
email coworkers, friends and family for support! For help setting up a fundraising page
contact Jill Smith at jsmith@regionalfoodbank.org or (405) 604-7113.
(5)
POUND$ FOR DOLLAR$
Every dollar that you raise will be converted into nine pounds of food! The entire amount of your contribution
donated through this food and fund drive is tax-deductible.
Please select the amount that you would like to donate from the options below. Online donations are the fastest
and easiest way to help. Visit www.regionalfoodbank.org and contribute using your credit card.
In support of the Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers’ Food Drive, please accept my/our contribution amount of:
__________$10
__________$35
__________$50
________Other:________________
Business:
Name:
Address:
City: Phone: (
State:
)
Zip:
E-mail:
____Yes! Sign me up for the Regional Food Bank newsletter.
I would like to pay by (circle one):
Visa
MasterCard
American Express
Check Cash
Name on card:
Card Number: Exp. Date:
Signature:
Total Amount Enclosed:
Make all checks payable to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.
For more information:
Contact Angie Gaines at 405-604-7109, or e-mail: againes@regionalfoodbank.org
Please return by June 2 to:
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
Attention: Angie Gaines
P.O. Box 270968 • 3355 S Purdue
Oklahoma City, OK 73137-0968
No matter how you chose to give, we thank you for your donation.
(6)
AFTER THE FOOD DRIVE
DROP OFF DONATIONS
If you collected:
Less than 400 pounds…
FEEDING HOPE AWARDS
• 2010 Winner for Most Pounds Raised
Overall
American Fidelity Assurance Company
• 12,470 pounds
Help keep costs down. We ask that all collections
under 400 pounds, or four full boxes of donated
food, be dropped off at the Regional Food Bank
between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through
• 2010 Winner for Most Money
Collected Overall
Devon Energy Corporation
• $588,000
Friday. You will receive a receipt for
your donation.
More than 400 pounds...
Contact Angie at 405-604-7109 to schedule
• 2010 Winner for Raising the
Most Meals by a Company with
500+ Employees
Devon Energy Corporation
• 4,116,000 meals
a pickup. Pickups are made on Tuesdays and
Thursdays (pick up times are subject to change).
Please make sure that all food is in one location.
Drivers are on a tight schedule and need to keep
• 2010 Winner for Raising the Most
Meals by a Company with 100-499
CompSource
• 2,675 meals
the pick up time to a minimum.
To qualify for the awards, all food and money
donations must be at the Regional Food Bank by
June 2nd and an award party will be held in
• 2010 Winner for Raising the Most Meals
by a company, 100 Employees
First United Bank
• 3,242 meals
late June.
(7)
VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP
Name: Address: City: Cell Phone: Zip: Email: Special Restrictions/Requests: Check here if you can work wherever you are needed:
Post Office Locations:
(1st preference)
/
(2nd preference)
Number of Volunteers You are Bringing:
Ages of Volunteers:
*Please note – There needs to be the “suggested” number of volunteers at a site at all times. If a group signs up and
works in two shifts we will need four volunteers per shift for a total of eight volunteers in that location.
Station Bethany Britton
Center City
Del City
Eastside
Edmond Main
Edmond Centennial
Edmond Coffee Creek
Farley
Hefner
Midwest City
Moore
Mustang
Penn/89
Santa Fe
Shartel
Southeast
Southwest
39th St.
Village
Warr Acres
Westside
Address
Volunteers Needed
6612 NW 38th St.
10
301 W. Britton Rd.
Chesapeake Only
305 NW 5th St.
9
4440 SE 44th St.
10
701 N Kelley
18
200 N. Broadway
12
301 W. 33rd 12
401 W. Covell Rd.
12
3621 NW 16th 8
7800 W. Hefner Rd.
Mercy Only
8275 E. Reno Ave.
Devon Only
601 S. Service Rd.
25
604 N. Mustang Rd.
5
9201 S. Penn Ave.
Grainger Only
201 SW 134th St.
10
5300 N. Shartel Ave.
5
301 S. I-35 Service Rd.
12
5701 S. Agnew Ave.
10
3022 NW 39th St.
15
9405 N. Penn Pl.
Devon Only
6001 NW 63rd St.
15
5701 NW 4th St.
10
PLEASE MAIL, FAX, OR E-MAIL YOUR COMPLETED FORM TO:
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
Attn: Jamie Treadaway
P.O. Box 270968 • Oklahoma City, OK 73137
Fax: 405-688-6447 • jtreadaway@regionalfoodbank.org
(8)
STEERING COMMITTEE
Thank you for making a difference in the lives of thousands
of hungry men, women, children and seniors in central
and western Oklahoma.
Thank you steering committee members:
Feeding Hope Chair
Ray Haefele
Dave Heineke
Food Industry
Letter Carriers Chairs
Bob Bearden
David Miller
Steve Riggs
Kelly Epperson
Homeland/United Stores
David Carpenter
American Fidelity Assurance Company
Mark Staggs
Lawton Letter Carrier
Brandi Scott
American Red Cross
Diana Erwin and Gaylene Stiles
Mercy Hospital
Cindy Batt
Arvest Bank
James Bryant and Sonya Dulan
NALC
Gerald Cockerham and Shawn Steele
Associated Wholesale Grocers
Larry Hayes
Norman Letter Carrier
Anita Reaves
Campbell Soup
Marcus Evans
OKC Fire Department
Tim O’Connor
Central Oklahoma Labor Federation
Terry Kennedy
Seagate
Katie Collins
Chesapeake Energy
Keith Beltz
Shawnee Letter Carrier
Sharon Neuwald
Community Leader
Royce Thompson
Shawnee Post Office
Kim Whyburn
Devon Energy
Elisa Milbourn
Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau
Joe Csordas
Enid Letter Carrier
Barbara Royce
United Way of Central Oklahoma
Cheryl Brashear
Express Employment Professionals
Brett Bowden
ValPak
Kristy Boone
Ideal Homes
Christina Bobbitt
First United Bank
(9)
TM
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is the state’s largest private hunger-relief charity whose mission is to help the charitable
community effectively feed people in need.
The Food Bank serves as a link that allows the food industry and community to
donate food and household products that are then distributed to more than 700
charitable feeding programs and elementary schools in 53 central and western
Oklahoma counties. The average annual income for all Food Bank client households is $12,130, with an average household size of three members.
The Food Bank provides enough food to feed
more than 77,000 people each week – and yet, it
is still not enough to meet the growing demand.
Established in 1980, the Regional Food Bank distributed approximately 280,000
pounds of food in its first year of operation. Today, that same amount is distributed in two short days. Since its inception, the Regional Food Bank has distributed
more than 385 million pounds of food. The Food Bank continues to experience
unprecedented growth, realizing a 43% increase over the last two years. We
distributed 36.5 million pounds in fiscal year 2010 and all indications are that fiscal
year 2011 will jump to 42 million pounds.
The Center on Hunger and Poverty ranks Oklahoma as one of the five worst states in the nation in food insecurity with 500,000
Oklahomans at risk of hunger every day. This is an issue that is not only prevalent in our inner cities, but in suburban and rural
Oklahoma as well.
One in every five Oklahoma
children struggles with hunger
on a daily basis - never
certain where their next meal
will come from...or if they will
even have a next meal.
A recent survey of the emergency pantries, shelters
and soup kitchens served by the Food Bank found
that 34% of the people receiving emergency food
were children under 18.
“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope”
(10)
TM
TM
Programs and Services
MISSION
SUMMER FEEDING PROGRAM
The Food Bank’s mission is to help the charitable community
effectively feed people in need.
This supplemental summer feeding program is for children who
depend on federally-funded free and reduced meals during the
school year.
FACTS & FIGURES
• 500,000 Oklahomans are at-risk of going hungry every day,
including one in five children.
• For every $1 donated, the Food Bank can provide 7 meals to
hungry Oklahomans.
• The Food Bank’s administrative and fundraising costs are less
than four percent.
URBAN HARVEST
FOOD FOR KIDS
This program distributes commodities throughout central and
western Oklahoma to emergency feeding programs (homeless
shelters, soup kitchens, and food pantries).
This program teaches and assists individuals and groups how to
grow and harvest their own food. The Food Bank has also helped
to establish more than 20 neighborhood community gardens at
area schools, churches and vacant lots.
USDA COMMODITIES
This program is an emergency food assistance program
designed especially for children. Children identified as
chronically hungry by school personnel are able to receive a
backpack filled with non-perishable, kid-friendly food for over
the weekend or a school holiday. Currently, there are nearly
10,000 children in this program in 367 schools in 49 central and
western Oklahoma counties.
DHS PROGRAM
The Food Bank partners with the Okla. Dept. of Human Services
(DHS) to provide nonperishable food to county DHS offices so
case workers can issue the food to meet emergency needs when
clients are unable to be served by local food pantries. A total of
52 DHS county offices currently participate in the program serving approximately 500 households.
SENIOR FEEDING PROGRAM
This pilot program provides weekend food assistance to
homebound seniors and mobile food pantries at senior housing
sites.
CARE AND SHARE PROGRAM
A total of 8 rural counties are served through this program and
close to 600 pre-made pantry boxes are distributed to families in
communities where access to food pantries does not exist.
KIDS CAFE
The Food Bank assists 16 Kids Cafes that provide ongoing
support and a “safe haven” for nearly 900 at-risk children. During
the school year, sites provide nutritious snacks or an evening
meal for up to 1,000 children daily. In the summer, the program
provides breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack.
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Food Bank. In Fiscal Year 2010,
thousands of volunteers donated more than 64,000 hours of
service saving the Food Bank more over $1 million in labor costs.
PRODUCE PEOPLE CARE
SPECIAL EVENTS
This program recovers and distributes produce to feeding
programs across the state.
These fun and rewarding activities raise public awareness of our
mission, and the need we fulfill within the community:
•
The Chefs’ Feast (March)
•
Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers’ Food Drive (May)
•
National Hunger Action Month (H.A.M.) (September)
•
Students Against Hunger Food Drive (Oct/Nov)
REGIONAL DELIVERY SYSTEM
The RDS program delivers food throughout the Food Bank’s
nearly 53 county service area to nearly 350 delivery sites, making
approximately 1,000 deliveries per month in urban and rural
Oklahoma.
3355 S. Purdue P.O. Box 270968 Oklahoma City, OK 73137-0968
Direct: 405-972-1111 Fax: 405-688-6447 www.regionalfoodbank.org
A Member of
“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope”
(11)
TM
TM
SERVICE AREA MAP
3355 S. Purdue P.O. Box 270968 Oklahoma City, OK 73137-0968
Direct: 405-972-1111 Fax: 405-688-6447 www.regionalfoodbank.org
“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope”
(12)
TM
TM
FLOW OF FOOD
Local Food Sources
National Food Sources
Growers, packers, manufacturers,
distributors, wholesalers,
restaurants, retailers,
food drives, USDA
Feeding America’s growers,
packers, manufacturers,
distributors
More than 700
Charitable Feeding Programs
and Elementary Schools
More than 77,000 different people receive
assistance from feeding programs in any given week
3355 S. Purdue P.O. Box 270968 Oklahoma City, OK 73137-0968
Direct: 405-972-1111 Fax: 405-688-6447 www.regionalfoodbank.org
“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope”
(13)
TM
TM
FOOD for KIDS
Food for Kids began in 2003 in response to requests from school
officials who saw children digging in trash cans looking for extra food,
rushing food lines and passing out on Monday morning due to lack of
food over the weekend.
Food for Kids is an emergency feeding program for chronically hungry
elementary school children. Children, who might have very little or
nothing to eat between school lunch on Friday and school breakfast
on Monday, are given a backpack filled with nutritious, kid-friendly
food every weekend and holiday throughout the school year.
Before receiving help from Food for Kids, many children had difficulty
staying awake in class on Monday morning after a long weekend
without enough food.
Hungry children cannot learn.
While hunger has negative effects for all segments of the population,
children are the most vulnerable. Research indicates that even mild
under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods
can lead to deficits in learning, increased rates of academic failure and
cognitive impairment. A report by the Sodexo Foundation estimates
that $1.4 billion is lost annually in Oklahoma because of hunger. By
alleviating their hunger, children can develop in a healthy manner, focus
on school work, miss fewer days of school and improve behaviorally.
The long-term objectives of the Food for Kids program are to give
participating children the power to learn independently, grow and
provide hope for their future, thereby giving them the opportunity to
become well-adjusted, responsible, involved and productive Oklahoma
citizens.
$200 provides a backpack of food for
one child every weekend and holiday
for an entire school year.
“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope”
(14)
TM
TM
“When hunger ends, learning begins.”
--Principal Boyd Braden, McCord Elementary
We hear stories everyday from teachers and counselors who witness first-hand the positive impact on children who participate in
the Food for Kids program. These are just a few examples:
“I had a student in my class who I thought would benefit from the program,
but I just wasn’t sure. I did not include him the first week, but after a few of his
comments about food that week, I realized he would probably benefit. He is only
6 yrs old, so I explained the backpack and food to him in a way he would understand. In the fifteen minutes from when he was given the bag and when the end
of the day bell rang, he thanked me three times with a huge smile on his face,
‘Thank you for the food’.”
“We have a student who became homeless when he was in second grade. His
mother delivered papers and tried to provide for him. She struggled for many
years. The child is now in fifth grade, making great grades, and his mother has
found the stability she needs to provide for him. The Food for Kids program truly
made a difference for this child!”
“One single mother shared with me that the peanut butter and crackers sometimes is the only thing there is to eat
until payday. She has cried on my shoulder and thanked me personally for the program and told me how much it has
helped her as she struggles to make ends meet for herself and her two little girls. I tell her how the Food for Kids program is funded and how many different people are involved in keeping this program a success for others just like her.
Lives are impacted by your donations in ways you may never know.”
“I have a family whose dad just lost his job. They have three kids at home. The mom is disabled and not able to work.
We put them on this program and the first time they received the food the mom called the school and cried she was so
appreciative.”
Without food, there is no hope.
Without hope, there is no chance for success.
It all begins with food.
“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope”
(15)
TM
TM
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FOOD BANK
Q:
What is the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma?
A:
TheFoodBankisaprivate,nonprofit501(c)(3)organizationdistributingprimarilydonatedfoodtomore than700charitablefeedingprogramsandelementaryschoolsin53centralandwestern
Oklahoma counties.
Q:
A:
What kinds of feeding programs do you serve?
TheFoodBankservesavarietyofprogramsincludingemergencyfoodclosets,homelessshelters,
children’sprograms,soupkitchens,seniorcitizencentersandmobilemealsprograms,drugandalcohol rehabilitation centers, women’s shelters and group homes.
Q:
A:
Does the Food Bank sell food?
The Food Bank does not sell donated food. Donated food is distributed to agencies meeting our criteria
forparticipation.Theseagenciescontributeupto12¢apoundorlessasahandlingfeeforFoodBank
services.Theypaynothingforthedonatedfood.Theagenciesaverageunder4¢perpound.TheFood Bankpurchaseprogramdoesallowparticipatingagenciestheopportunitytobuy,atourcostplushandling
fee,keyitemsthatmaynotbeavailablethroughdonations.Theseitemsconsistofalargevarietyofitems
including protein items and personal care products for example.
Q:
A:
What are the criteria for selection of participating agencies?
Feedingprogramsmustbeoperatedbya501(c)(3)nonprofitorganizationorbyachurch.Atleast51
percentofthosefedmustbeclassifiedaslow-income(mostprogramsserve100percentneedy).Food
must be distributed to the needy at no cost. Also, food programs sign an agreement not to barter, sell,
ormisuseanyproducttheyreceivefromtheFoodBank.
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
Does the Food Bank work directly with needy people?
Notundernormalcircumstances,no.In2010,theFoodBankdidreceiveaone-timegrantthatallowed fordirectdistributionofemergencyfamilyboxesoffoodandhouseholdproductstolow-incomefamilies
with children. Aside from this exception, the Regional Food Bank serves as a liaison between the food
industryandfeedingprograms.TheFoodBankdistributestheproducttopartneragencies,whothen
distributetothehungry.
How is the Food Bank funded?
Approximately68percentoftheFoodBank’stotalfundingconsistsofprivatedonationsfrom
corporations,foundations,churches,andindividuals.Theremaining32percentoftheFoodBank’s
incomeisintheearnedincomecategoryandconsistsofhandlingfees,governmentcontractsand programfees.TheFoodBank’spartneragenciesassessthemselvesahandlingfeeof12¢or
lessperpoundoffood–withthecurrentaverageatlessthan$.04perpound-tohelpsupporttheFood Bank’s general operations.
3355 S. Purdue P.O. Box 270968 Oklahoma City, OK 73137-0968
Direct: 405-972-1111 Fax: 405-688-6447 www.regionalfoodbank.org
“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope”
(16)
TM
TM
Q:
A:
Where does the food come from?
Food is donated by a variety of sources. It comes from food manufacturers and distributors, grocery
stores and community food drives. National product donations are also obtained through Feeding
America, the nation’s largest domestic charitable hunger-relief organization with more than 200 affiliate
food banks.
Q:
A:
Do you distribute only food?
No. We also distribute cleaning supplies, toiletry items, paper products and other non-food products.
Many of these products are not eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits (aka Food Stamps).
Q:
A:
What are some reasons why food/product is donated?
Food is donated for many reasons, including mislabeling, incorrect weight, incorrect ingredients/
seasoning, damaged or seasonal packaging, over production, nearing "pull date", and product not selling.
Q:
A:
Does the Food Bank have enough food to meet the need?
No. It is estimated that the Food Bank meets about 50-65 percent of the need of charitable feeding
programs. Items in our inventory move very quickly- especially those in high demand such as protein
items, soups, and canned fruits and vegetables.
Q:
A:
How much food can the Food Bank accommodate?
With our 150,000 square foot warehouse, the Food Bank can handle almost any size donation, whether it
is frozen, refrigerated, or dry. We estimate that we could distribute up to 50 million pounds per
year if the right kind food were available.
Q:
A:
Does the Food Bank have the capabilities to pick up food donations?
The Food Bank owns several different vehicles including dry boxes and refrigerated trailers, allowing us to
pick up almost any size donation. Our trucks run daily routes in the metro area and at least monthly
routes throughout our rural service area.
Q:
A:
Do food/product donations fluctuate during the year?
Product donations do go up and down during the year but there are not necessarily any trends. While
donations fluctuate, the demand for food for needy Oklahomans remains constant throughout the year.
Food is needed both in the winter and the summer. It is normal for donations to go up around the holiday
season because it is traditionally a time of giving.
Q:
A:
Why does the Food Bank do Food Drives?
Food drives are a great way for individuals, business, community organizations and schools to be come
involved and support the Food Bank in assisting neighbors in the community. Food drives help the
Food Bank obtain much needed shelf stable products. In 2010 the Food Bank received more than 1.2
million pounds of food and $755,000 through the two major food drives held: Feeding Hope and Students
Against Hunger.
3355 S. Purdue P.O. Box 270968 Oklahoma City, OK 73137-0968
Direct: 405-972-1111 Fax: 405-688-6447 www.regionalfoodbank.org
A Member of
“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope”
(17)
TM