ORGANIZE A FOOD & FUND DRIVE
Support SACA by hosting a Food or Fund Drive at your company, church or your community organization.
Just follow these 3 easy steps to get started!
1. Register Your Drive or Event.
Plan on hosting a drive or event for SACA? Fill out the Registration Form below and select a drop off date. A SACA staff member will reach out to you shortly. We’re here to help make your drive a success!
2. Plan for Success.
A great theme inspires everyone to get involved! Read our Food Drive 101 guide for fun ideas or come up with your own.
FUN TIP: Narrow your collection focus to just 5 items. A theme like “cereal drive” or the “TOP 5” needed items is easy to remember when shopping. More helpful hints below.
3. Drop off Donations & Celebrate!
Now that you have dropped off your donations at SACA, it is time to share your success! Share photos and your food drive story on social media or website and newsletters.
Please tag us on social media @sacafoodshelf when you post photos!
DROP OFF DETAILS:
Hours: M: 9:30am-4pm | T: 8am - 4pm | W: 10am - 6pm | Th: 8am-3pm
Location: 627 38th Ave NE Columbia Heights, MN 55421
If you have questions or need to change your drop off date please email leigh@sacafoodshelf.org.
Organizing a healthy Food Drive 101
Organize a committee and set a goal
Keep things simple, create a committee from your organization or community, set a goal, spread the word and help with the collection.
Create containers for your food drive. Clearly mark and label with signage (download donation box sign from our website) and place containers in high traffic areas to get noticed.
Make helping easy: Narrow your focus
Focus on 1-5 items. A theme (cereal drive)
or the “TOP 5” needed items is easy to remember when shopping.
Spread the word
The sky the is the limit. Promote your food drive on your website, social media, by email, send a press release to local newspapers or post flyers.
Decide on a theme and time frame
Be creative in naming your event (idea for themes are listed below). Are you looking to do a one-day event or a month long event? Include this in your messaging.
Establish incentives for individuals or team
• Secure company matching funds to quickly double your efforts
• Award prizes, special perks, tickets or gift cards for most pounds raised
All donations to SACA Food Shelf are tax-deductible. We are a tax exempt, nonprofit organization under the provisions of Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). SACA’s Federal ID Number (EIN) is 41-1272131
Food Drive Campaign Ideas
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Peanut Butter Posse
Select one or two of our most requested food items, employ a catchy title for your group, and see which group/department can collect the most food.
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Fill it Up!
Fill the office, Stuff a truck, overload breakroom, or other designated area with food.
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Team Challenges
Organize contest between departments with different categories such as largest donation or most pounds raised per team.
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Casual Day for Pay
Why limit casual to just one day a week? Swap the dress pants for jeans! A simple charge of $5 for a day of casual wear can really add up.
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CANstruction
A creative way to motivate and help remind people to donate food items to SACA is to create a CANstruction—an object constructed out of cans.
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Ice Cream Social
Buy a gallon of ice cream, whipping cream and sprinkles. Make ice cream sundaes and ask for a free-will donation. All proceeds benefit SACA.
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Culturally Specific Drive
Our client families are diverse. How about a Latino, Asian, or Somali foods drive?
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Chili Throw-down
It is time to settle who truly makes the best chili? Fire up the crock-pots, roll up those sleeves, meet in the kitchen, sell the tastings and voting rights to your coworkers and donate the proceeds SACA.
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“Items” of the Day
Encourage your group to work towards the common goal of gifting SACA the Top 5 most needed items, by assigning an item for each day of the week (or each week of the month)
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Diaper Party
Diapers are a necessity for parents with young children and they fly off our shelves.
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Meeting or Event Add-on
Simply ask each participant to bring in canned goods for events. Request donations when someone is late to a meeting, a cell phone rings during a meeting, etc.
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Skip a Meal Out
Encourage your colleagues to skip one meal out and instead donate the funds saved from that meal to SACA Food Shelf.
SACA’S TOP 5
Peanut Butter
Soups: Chicken Noodle & Ramen
Condiments (Salad Dressing, Mayo, BBQ, Ketchup Mustard, etc.)
Cooking Oil
Canned Fruit (Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Mixed, etc.)
SACA’S Most Needed Items
Additional Items needed to Stock the Shelves
Non-Perishable
White Rice
Pasta Sauce
Baking Mixes (brownies or cakes)
Canned Ravioli, Beef Stew or Chili
Coffee (Ground or k-Cups)
Condiments (salad dressing, BBQ, etc)
Tea
Flour
Sugar
Canned Vegetables (Low Sodium)
Large Juice (Shelf Stable)
Personal Care
Shampoo
Conditioner
Adult Diapers (Most Needed: M & L)
Baby Diapers (Most Needed: 3-6)
Baby Wipes
Laundry Detergent
Dish Soap
Toothpaste
Menstruation Products
TIP: Don’t forget to check the expiration dates on food items. We accept non-perishable items up to 1 year past their expiration. SACA Food Shelf is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donation is tax deductible.
Other ways to support SACA
Online Donation Platforms
There are many ways to donate online to SACA Food Shelf and Thrift Store. Below are a few options
PayPal Giving Fund
PayPal Giving Fund is a great way to donate to SACA with out the fees. The platform is powered by PayPal and allows one-time donations.
GiveMN.org
GiveMN.org is Minnesota’s giving platform on Give to the Max and throughout the year. Make one-time or recurring donations to SACA.
PayPal
Safe. Convenient. Easy. Fast.
Use your Paypal account or bank card to make one-time and recurring donations to SACA Food Shelf.
Support SACA while Shopping Online
Shop our Walmart Charity Registry
Buy groceries for community homebound seniors and disable neighbors from our Walmart Sparkgood registry. All items ship directly to SACA Food Shelf.
Shop our Target Charity Registry
You can now shop our online Target Charity Registry from the comfort of your home and have it shipped directly to SACA. Note that free shipping is on orders over $35.
