Food & Funds Drive Kit
Thank you for helping neighbors and families in the Rainier Valley area! This kit will give you ideas, signs, and information to help make your Food or Fund Drive a success!
In a challenging economy with record-breaking inflation, more families are struggling with their grocery bill. At Rainier Valley Food Bank (RVFB), our goal is to provide fresh, healthy, and culturally sensitive food.
#DonateDifferently
This year, we're challenging you to shift your giving. Instead of shopping for your holiday donation for your local food bank, join the #DonateDifferently challenge by donating the same dollar value online instead. By doing this, you're helping to multiply your purchasing power, ensuring that more families are able to receive the food they prefer this holiday season.
Regardless of how you choose to support us, we want to make the process a simple one for you by providing a kit packed with resources.
Getting Started
Thank you for helping your neighbors and our food bank. We know that the work that happens here simply would not be possible without the volunteers in our community who contribute thousands of hours of service to help make our work possible.
Set a Goal: Will you collect food or funds – or both? How many potential participants will you have? How much can you reasonably expect from each participant? How long will your food or funds drive last?
Starting Your Fundraiser: We’ve put together a checklist and some ideas for your event. We are happy to provide collection boxes, signs you can use to promote the event, and digital fundraising pages.
Dropping Off Your Donations: We are open and available to accept donations on Tuesday from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm and Saturday from 12 pm - 2 pm. If you have any questions, please email us at info@rvfb.org.
Food & Fund Drive Checklist
Set-Up
Decide if you will raise food, funds, or both.
Set a goal.
Agree on the length of the drive, from a few hours to a few weeks (we recommend two to three weeks).
Chose collection location(s).
Have a plan for how you will manage collected food during the drive.
Decide how you will measure and track food.
Promote your event.
Get Creative
Help make your drive fun by sponsoring competitions.
Offer rewards to top donors.
Make colorful posters noting key details about the drive
Display your posters in high-traffic areas.
Identify your food drive with a meaningful name.
During the Drive
Update participants about the amount of food and/or funds you have received.
Send out creative and fun messages to keep the momentum going.
When the Drive is Done
Recruit volunteers to help prepare food for transportation to the food bank.
Complete the Food and Fund Drive Report Form.
Share the drive results with your participants via email, social media, or text.
Run an Item Drive
We recognize that the need for food does not exist in isolation, which is why we provide everyday essentials such as hygiene kits, diapers, formula, pet food, and more! Consider shopping our Amazon Wishlist or running an item drive to help meet our neighbors' needs.
Rainier Valley Food Bank’s five programs provide fresh, healthy food to approximately 15,000 people every month. We recognize that this is a challenging time for most. Can you help us keep our neighbors' plates full?
More Ways to Give:
Sign Up to Volunteer
The average volunteer shift is three hours. We have both morning and afternoon shifts, as well as weekend volunteer opportunities. We would love to have more regular volunteers and encourage you to volunteer once a week, once a month, or occasionally, as your schedule allows.
Our Warehouse Manager, Otis Pimpleton, said it best, “come down and bring what’s special about you. We’ll find a place for it to grow.” We look forward to having you volunteer with us! Please sign up to volunteer on our website. To volunteer as a group, please fill out our group volunteer application. If you’re interested in one of our special skills volunteer roles, please fill out our volunteer application.
Become a Monthly Donor
For an impact that lasts all year long, join the Full Plate Club by setting up a recurring donation! Regardless of the value, your monthly gift provides our organization with stability that ensures we can provide the support our community needs throughout the year.