ROTARY FIGHTS SUMMER HUNGER!
Spring Food Drive
March 4–March 15, 2019
Summer Hunger Food Drive
Rotary is partnering with Food Gatherers – Washtenaw County’s only food rescue and food bank program – to fight hunger in our community.More than 80 local businesses and organizations, and local Rotary Clubs will collect non-perishable food items for Food Gatherers to distribute to 170 non-profit partners and programs working to alleviate hunger in our community.Examples of these partners include the Salvation Army, Dawn Farm, Ozone House, Peace Neighborhood Center, Perry Nursery School, Dexter Senior Center, SOS Community Services, the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, and Hope Clinic.
Hunger is real in our County.In Washtenaw County 1 in 7 individuals is food insecure, including approximately 9,700 children and 2,800 seniors. Each year, an estimated 45,000 people rely on Food Gatherers to feed themselves and their families. These individuals are our neighbors, relatives, friends, and co-workers.
The Rotary Fights Summer Hunger food drive is a critical source of food for families with children who depend on free/reduced breakfast and lunch programs during the school year.When school is out for summer, many low-income families will scramble to replace these meals. The food collected during the Rotary food drive will help ensure that the children in these families have the food they need to grow healthy and strong. The goal of the Rotary Fights Summer Hunger food drive is to gather food and funds to provide 60,000 meals this summer. This food will be available to children and families through Food Gatherers’ network of 170 partner programs, including more than 30 Summer Food Service Program sites serving children two meals daily and providing fun summer activities and nutrition education.
Will you join the Rotary Fights Summer Hunger food drive?
The goal is to provide as much food as possible for our hungry neighbors! Decide how your business would like to participate. Will you host a food drive? Will you host a fund drive? Will you host both?
To host a food drive:
- Food Gatherers gratefully accepts non-perishable food donations. In the summer, the most requested food items are peanut butter, tuna, low-sodium canned meats, beans, low-sodium chili, hearty soups and stews, canned fruit in juice, baby food/formula, and Ensure or other nutritional supplement drinks.
- Rotary will deliver food collection boxes (approximately 3 feet tall and 2 feet square) with food drive posters attached and a Rotary Donation form, during business hours, the week before the drive – February 25thto March 1st.
- For the duration of the food drive place the box in an easily accessible, highly visible location that does not block day-to-day traffic flow. Rotary will provide an extra poster for display and fliers for your customers.
- You will return the food collection box and collected food, along with the Rotary Donor form to Food Gatherers at the end of the drive.
To host a fund drive:
- Financial donations (cash, check, credit card) allow Food Gatherers to purchase needed food at bulk rates, getting more pounds of food per dollar than your purchase in the grocery store. For every $5 donated Food Gatherers can provide 15 meals to our hungry neighbors.
- This year, gifts of $25 or more made through the Rotary Fight Summer Hunger food drive will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous community donor.A gift of $25 will provide enough food for 150 meals when you include the match!
- Spread the word about the power of donated funds to provide meals – for every $1 donated Food Gatherer can provide 3 meals. Businesses can collect gifts of cash, checks (made payable to Food Gatherers), or direct donors to give online foodgatherers.org/rotary. Cash and checks can be delivered to Food Gatherers warehouse at the end of the food drive. Food Gatherers will issue receipts for all gifts made by check or online.
- To make a bigger impact…you can create your ownRotary Fights Summer Hunger fundraising page. Visit foodgatherers.org/rotary, click on “Register Your Own Team” or “Participate as an Individual”, create your page, and share it via email, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Use this page to challenge co-workers, friends, and family to join the fight against hunger! Donations made to individual or team pages also qualify for the matching funds.
Spread the word! Whether you host a food drive, a fund drive, or both, this is the most important thing you can do! Include information in your company newsletter, in employee paychecks, and organization wide e-mails. Consider fun ways to encourage participation, for example, place a grocery bag on every desk to encourage donations of food or provide an incentive for the department with the highest percentage of donors.
Food and fund drop-off
When the drive is over, the food collection box and collected food should be delivered to Food Gatherers on Monday, March 18 or Tuesday, March 19. Pull up to the large orange loading door and enter the orange doors to the right labeled “Agency and Food Donor Entrance.” Please have your completed Rotary Donor Form with you. The total weight will be added at Food Gatherers.
Food Gatherers: 1 Carrot Way, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Food Drop-Off Hours: Monday, March 18 9 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Tuesday, March 19 9 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Please note: For easier transport, you will need to transfer your food into boxes which can be easily lifted.Xerox paper boxes are a good size and will stack easily if not over filled. Remember people’s backs when packing food into boxes!
Directions to Food Gatherers
From Plymouth Road. Take Plymouth Rd. to Nixon Rd. (in front of Pfizer). Turn right on Nixon Road. Turn left on Dhu Varren Rd. Turn right on Carrot Way at the Carrot Way Apartments. Look for Food Gatherers’ warehouse at the end of Carrot Way.
From Pontiac Trail. Head north out of town approximately 2 miles. Turn right on Dhu Varren Rd. Pass the Olson Park. Turn left onto Carrot Way.
Questions?
If you have any questions or concerns prior to or during the food drive, please contact your assigned Rotarian or Todd Kephart by email at toddkephart@risadvisory.com.
About Rotary
Rotary International is an organization of business and professional persons united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world. To learn more about The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, visit the web at http://www.a2rotary.org/
About Food Gatherers
Food Gatherers is Washtenaw County’s only food bank and food rescue program, distributing more than 6.3 million pounds of food annually to 170 non-profit partners and programs serving low-income adults, seniors, and children.For a list of food donors and recipient agencies, or to learn how you can become involved in the fight against hunger, please visit www.foodgatherers.org or call (734) 761-2796.
To learn more about child hunger in the United States, see http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/child-hunger/child-hunger-fact-sheet.html
