Before you donate to your local food pantry.....

[Dystopian]

Call and find out what a monetary donation is worth. Last year a radio station held an on-air food drive in front of a grocery store for the local food pantry. I pulled up, saw that they were accepting donations at the tent, went in the store, and came out with a couple bags for donation. As I was driving home, I tuned in to hear that for each $1 donated, the food pantry could purchase $7 worth of food! I quickly drove back with some cash.

Check out your area.....food is good....but the money might be a lot better!

peace~

[Vorta]

1. Grocery store food drives

I realize that grocery store chains often donate big cash and product to charities, but the "buy it at retail and drop it in the box outside" kind of food drives have always bothered me and seemed kind of self-serving for the grocery stores (not that their charity isn't about PR).

[Dystopian]

3. This one wasn't promoted by the store.....

The local station decides yearly what charity or community program they'll support with their on-air program. They just happened to pick one of the two major grocery stores in town to set up their mobile station/tent for the food drive. I didn't even know what was going on until I got there....I'm sure the store appreciated the business and free advertising, but had I been listening to the radio prior to going there I would have heard about the monetary donations and skipped the food items....
I hear you, though.....
This is a small town....I work with many families who visit the pantry on a regular basis....too much poverty in this rich country of ours.

peace~

[dubykc]

2. You should also check to find out how much of that $1 goes to...

Admisistrative costs and overhead. Some of the grassroots organizations are very good at keeping their overhead and Admin costs at a minimum, but there are others I've researched and found to be spending as much as 60% on Admin and overhead.

Also listen cafefully to the wording of their ads, do they say your $1 WILL buy $7 worth of food, which is an obligatory statement. OR

Does it say your $1 CAN or COULD or SHOULD or MAY buy $7 worth of food, all of these are non-obligatory statements that the Madison Ave bunch has been using for decades.

[Dystopian]

4. Thank you.....

I'll call to find out this information...This is a small town with many volunteers.....but will make sure I get the facts.

peace~

[Dystopian]

5. kicking for families who need us.....

:kick:

peace~

[MonkeyFunk]

6. That's great advice....

rather than buying food at the grocery store for a food drive, a cash gift allows some of these groups to get much more food using resources like Second Harvest or other food banks.

If you buy a dollar's worth of food and donate it, the group could use that same dollar in cash to buy twice as much food.