Food Drive Examples

Frankford Candy Company
The decision to hold a food drive by the Frankford Candy Company was supported by their CEO, Stuart Selarnick and their CAO, Aseem Khera. Their drive started October 20 and was to end Nov. 20. Since Frankford Candy Company didn’t remove the drum they used to collect non-perishables items, employees continued to contribute for some time. Mr. Selarnick, believes the Frankford Candy Company should be supportive of the community. This Food Drive certainly shows that spirit.

Miquon Day Camp
200 children ages 4 to 10, attending the Miquon Day Camp were busy during the summer of 2007 with arts, crafts, athletics, swimming, music, drama, appreciation for the natural world… and conducting food drives.

The children and staff held a successful food drive to benefit those in need. The Miquon Day Camp shares the campus of the Miquon School, which is located in a protected 10-acre wooded valley in Whitemarsh Township.

Collin Darrell
In February of 2007 Collin and Alex Darrell of Swarthmore collected about three tons of food. Every February, since Collin, 23, was five and his brother Alex, 18, was six, the brothers have conducted food drives in their community.

On June 5, 2007, Philabundance presented the Harvesters of Hope Award to Alex and Collin. The award acknowledges individuals who are leading the way in the spirit of helping our neighbors throughout the Delaware Valley.

Below is a letter written by Collin Darrell early this year regarding food drives.

Eighteen years ago, I started a food drive and over the years it has developed into more than I could have hoped for. Some of my early memories from growing up are of this food drive and every year I become more aware of its importance and impact. It started shortly after seeing a homeless man near my dad’s office in center city Philadelphia. Being young and more impressionable, it hit me differently than it does the average passerby. After this encounter, I began questioning my parents for reasons that people were homeless and how they survived. After hearing that they depended on food shelters as a primary source of nourishment I asked how I could contribute to them and between me and my parents we came up with a collection box at my school.

I used this collection box for a few years but the amount of food generated wasn’t enough; I knew that there was a more effective way to collect food. This is when I came up with the idea of going to houses in the community. This idea has grown from thirty houses to two hundred fifty and so has the amount of food collected through the generosity of the towns I have lived in. This will be my thirteenth year asking Swarthmore to help me feed the homeless in the local area.

Any amount of non-perishable food would help this battle against hunger. Another form of donation could be a check made out to Philabundance. According to Philabundance, with one dollar they can buy five pounds of food and every pound of food can feed an adult a square meal. Generous financial donations made an enormous difference last year. Any contribution would be cherished by those who receive it, especially at this time of year, after the rush of holiday food drives. Please help by leaving your donation in the bag on the front porch. I will return next Sunday, March 4th, to collect all the bags. If you wish not to donate for any reason, I ask that you leave the empty bag outside so that I don’t disturb you; this helps me to make it around to all the houses in one day.

This is going to be my final year in this area and I would like it to be my greatest. This has been a part of my life that has helped lead me into my career in hospitality and shown me what the word really means. I really have enjoyed being the middle-man between Swarthmore’s generosity and the Greater Philadelphia area’s need. Whether you have donated for years or have been unable to in years past, please take this opportunity to help out those less fortunate than yourself. This is a way to give to the surrounding communities during a time of year when they usually get forgotten. I look forward to making my annual trip one last time and please look in the Swarthmorean for the final tally of food gathered from our community over the years.

Collin Darrell