Moms Fighting Hunger: Host a Neighborhood Food Drive

Today's post is one of those that I'm both excited and sad to write --

Excited because I'm working with a group of amazing moms who are all focused on making a difference in the lives of children!

But also sad because it means that there are kids who are going without food every day.

September is Hunger Awareness Month and we'd love your help to stock the shelves!

Kids who don't have enough food are more likely to get sick and aren't able to concentrate in school.

22% of kids under age 18 live in poverty and 16 MILLION kids live in households that struggle to put food on the table.

Our goal is to inspire as many people as possible to donate to your local food pantry in order to help local families.

Moms Fighting Hunger

Now, I know we are all busy - life gets crazy and we WANT to help, but it's not always easy to find the time to make a difference.

So, I'm going to make it a little easier for you --

Here's a 3-step Neighborhood Food Drive that can be completed in less than 1 hour!

How's that for easy :)

It really is a wonderful service project for families, especially those with young children. We've done this at least 5 different times in our neighborhood and it's always been a huge success.

Free Printable Flyer for Neighborhood Food Drive

Step 1: Print off these Neighborhood Food Drive Flyers.

Here's a free printable food drive flyer for you -- just fill in the date you plan to collect your items!

We also found that most people are more likely to donate if the name of the food pantry is included so we left a line for that information also.

The flyer also includes a list of the most needed items that are highly requested at many food banks and pantries. Feel free to add others any additional items and in our experience, many houses will donate a good variety of food.

I would suggest delivering the flyers at least 5 days prior to your pick-up date so neighbors have time to grab something at the grocery store once they've seen the list.

Step 2: Take a walk and leave the flyers on the front door of each neighbor's house.

This is where the kids can help -- we taped the flyer to each doorway on our walk to school. We also printed some of ours on bright orange paper so they could easily be spotted on the doorways.

Or deliver them on a walk or bike ride around the neighborhood one day or evening.

You may also want to send out an email or message on Facebook.

Host a Neighborhood Food Drive

Step 3: Grab a wagon or the car and head back around on your chosen pick-up day to collect the donations!

If you have a few cardboard boxes with you, you can box up the donations as you collect them.

Now just drop off the donations to your local food pantry or check with your grocery store to see if they have a collection bin.

Really, it's that easy and will make a big difference in the lives of kids this month, and next month, and well into the holiday season!

If you'd like to share photos of the kids doing a food drive, I would LOVE to see them! Post them to our Facebook page and we'll be sure to share them with everyone :)