Host a Food Drive
We envision a community where everyone is food secure.
Thanks for bringing food security to our neighborhoods
Thank you for your interest in organizing a food drive for Missoula Food Bank & Community Center! 1 in 4 of our neighbors have a difficult time affording food. We understand the importance of good health through nutrition and value providing diverse options to our customers.
We want your drive to be a fun and engaging experience for your group or business! We have plenty of resources available to you to make your drive a success. Herein, you will find some helpful hints to kick-start your food drive and assist in your organizing efforts.
If at any time you have questions or wish to talk through a concept or idea with our staff, please feel free to contact Molly, our development specialist, at mollyg@missoulafoodbank.org or 406.541.0765.
Tips for Success
WHO
First, who will organize your drive and help with the planning? Second, who will make up your team of food and fundraisers? Co-workers? Teammates? Students and parents? Clients? Corporate departments?
WHAT
What kind of Food Drive will you be organizing? Missoula Food Bank & Community Center gladly accepts donations of both food & funds – and there are a number of ways to combine the two and make a fun and successful campaign.
WHEN
What will be the length of your food drive or fundraiser? Is it a one-day event? Or will there be a period of time in which you are accepting donations? If you are doing a food drive, we recommend 2-3 weeks.
WHERE
Decide where people can drop off donations. Also, where/who can they go to with questions?
WHY
Missoula Food Bank & Community Center serves tens of thousands of individuals every year, providing emergency food assistance to people in need. Beyond that, does your drive have a special motivation behind it? Does your company or organization have a mission specific to your drive?
In 2022
Who We Serve
- 24,418 individuals served in our store
- 7,525 households were served in our store
- 33% of all customers served in our store were children under the age of 18
What else can you do?
- Set a goal for your drive: How many pounds of food do you want to collect? Or how many items? Is there a certain percentage of participation you’d like from your participants (Like 2 items per participant)?
- Invite Missoula Food Bank & Community Center staff to come meet your group: Our staff is happy to come talk to your team about hunger in Missoula and how important your drive is to our store and community.
- Choose a theme: Do you want to gather all Baby products? Or household items? Or all tomato products? The possibilities are endless. We’re happy to coordinate with you on what our store needs most.
Checklist
REGISTER
Please register your food drive.
SET A GOAL
Establishing a goal helps you to energize your participants, and it can add an element of friendly competition between classes, departments, or teams.
CREATE A CENTRAL DONATION SPOT
Missoula Food Bank & Community Center can lend you bins or boxes. (We also have banners and coin canisters!)
LET PEOPLE KNOW
Use flyers in break rooms, posters, emails, Facebook, Instagram – any way you can think of that is appropriate to spread the news about your drive. (We have sample flyers you can download and print off in the “Downloads” section below).
KICK OFF
Have a kick-off meeting/lunch/coffee break/ etc. Missoula Food Bank & Community Center staff is happy to come and talk to your group about food instability in Missoula and the impact your food drive has on our community and store.
INCENTIVIZE
Get people excited about the Food Drive by offering incentives like a pizza party, favorite parking space, or other rewards for top donors. Keep sending out creative messages to keep people excited about reaching the goal.
CELEBRATE
Give awards, thank-you’s, shout outs – whatever you want to do to acknowledge those that helped out! Share photos and stories with us so we can celebrate your contribution too! CONGRATULATE yourself on a job well done! It’s through your efforts that Missoula Food Bank & Community Center can provide food to thousands of people each month.
What happens after the drive?
DROP OFF YOUR DONATIONS AT MISSOULA FOOD BANK!
Bring your donations to our store on 1720 Wyoming Street on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday between 8 am – 7 pm or Wednesday & Friday from 8 am – 3 pm. We'd love to grab a picture and say our thanks!
CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING!
Schedule a time for your group to tour Missoula Food Bank & Community Center to learn more about our services. Or plan a volunteer opportunity to encourage volunteerism in the future!
Food Drive Options
Please consider which type of food drive you’d like to host. Missoula Food Bank & Community Center accepts a wide variety of items. What type of food drive would your group like to support?
This is the most standard food drive. You collect shelf-stable food items and bring them to the food bank to be weighed and distributed! Spice it up by giving it a theme- like spices, cereals, or proteins! Make it personal to your team!
We’re always happy to contact local grocery stores to help set up Fresh Food Drives. These consist of providing lists of fresh produce to customers while they shop. At the end of the drive, our staff will meet up with you to collect the food.
This consists of collecting fresh food items that are easy to store. These items include potatoes, onions, oranges, apples, and other storage-friendly produce. If you are hosting one of these drives, please hold fresh food for less than one week. (Fresh foods should be stored separately from canned goods in order to eliminate damage to the items.)
Looking for more of an event for your drive? Register for our annual CANdemonium! CANdemonium is a local design/build competition. Teams of architects, engineers, and groups mentored by these professionals compete to design and build giant structures made entirely from full cans of food. This is a great team-building and marketing opportunity for businesses, membership associations, school groups, fitness clubs, dealerships, congregations, and anyone who wants to make a big difference together for local families living with the threat of hunger!
Want to support MFB&CC AND beat the MSU Bobcats? This annual two-week, friendly, off-field food drive leading up to the Griz/Cat Game in November is a stellar time to rally your team to give generously. Last year we had nearly 70 drives running all at once to bring in almost 500,000 lbs of food to outweigh the Bozeman Community! Learn more here.
Kick Start Your Drive
Marketing Material Downloads
Have other ideas?
Contact Molly Gianarelli, development specialist, at mollyg@missoulafoodbank.org or 406.549.0543, ext. 204 to talk through any ideas you may have or if you are interested in setting up a food drive.
Facts On
Food Insecurity
The Store
Our store shoppers are 33% children, 55% adults and 12% seniors.
