If you’re planning an office drive, get management involved- offer an incentive for bringing items. Have your coworkers “pay” 5 food items to be able to dress down on Friday, or ask management to offer up a half day to the person or department that brings the most items. See if your company would be willing to match cash donations, or match each food item donated with $1. Send emails to everyone in the office and put up flyers in high-traffic areas such as bathrooms, elevators and bulletin boards.
If you’re planning a food drive at a school, have a competition between classes to see who can collect the most items. Have a pep rally to kick off the drive- give us a call and we can send an agency staff member to speak to students. Have some art students make unique food drive flyers to hand around the school to remind everyone about the drive. Give updates on who is winning the competition on a daily or weekly basis over the PA system. Have a reward for the winning class- maybe a pizza party or ice cream sundaes. If you’re having a one-time event– a PTA meeting, a baseball game, a school dance, or a business retreat- spread the word as early as possible, and send a reminder a day or two before the event. If there is only one day when you are collecting food items, it’s important to remind your group a few times so that they remember to bring their items.