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Food & Fund Drives

Photo of a young boy in the hatchback of the car carrying out bags of food to donate

The Redwood Empire Food Bank needs your support collecting food and funds.

Your participation can significantly impact neighbors facing hunger. Food drives are vital because they provide direct assistance, reduce food waste, strengthen community bonds, and promote overall well-being. However, we’ve recently seen a troubling dip in donations at a time when we’re serving the most we’ve ever served (142,000 people!).

Host a Food Collection Bin

Make hosting a food drive easy and fun! Set up a collection bin at your school, work, church, apartment complex—anywhere people gather. Spread the word to coworkers, classmates, friends, and neighbors to fill the bin with donations. Once it’s full, bring it to the Redwood Empire Food Bank!

Need a flyer to boost awareness? We’ve got you covered! Simply click here to download and print our food and funds drive flyer, or you can email Shana Koehler at skoehler@refb.org, and we’ll print one for you.

Host a Virtual Food Drive

  1. Click here and select the “Create my Own Fundraising Page” to create your own virtual food drive.
  2. Set a goal, write a little bit about yourself and your efforts.
  3. Share your link to your friends, family, and more!

Ding-Dong Donate

Help collect food donations for those facing hunger in our community by canvassing your neighborhood. 

  1. Print out flyers
  2. Go door to door dropping bags with supplied flyers at your neighbors’ doorsteps. (The bag will have instructions letting people know to fill it with non-perishable foods for the Redwood Empire Food Bank.)
  3. Neighbors will place their filled bag outside their front door on a date of your choosing. (We suggest giving them at least 24 hours to fill the bag.)
  4. Collect the filled bags and bring them to the Redwood Empire Food Bank at 3990 Brickway Blvd., Santa Rosa.

Host a Donation Station

  1. Encourage people to collect funds or fill a couple of bags with non-perishable food.
  2. Ask them to bring donations to the front of “Your Business”.
  3. Set up an area where people can drive-through to drop off their donations.

For tips on hosting a successful food drive, check out our toolkit!

Always thinking about the kids

“We want to thank you for always thinking about the kids during the summer. We got let go from work during this time as we are seasonal workers. You don’t know how much I would feel like I failed my children if you were not here. We especially appreciate how we can pick up the week’s worth of food on one day. Gas is a luxury to us and we don’t have enough to come every day. You were all sent from God for the community, thank you all so much. God bless.”

—Parent at a summer feeding site in Santa Rosa, CA

Mother with her son, smiling and holding a bag of groceries in front of a school
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