Host a Food Drive for The Children’s Place
Every week send home a backpack full of food with the children in our Day Treatment program to ensure they have enough food to eat all weekend long. Our pantry is stocked nearly entirely from donations from our community.
Many generous companies, organizations, community groups and more have hosted food drives to help stock our pantry. These make a huge difference in ensuring the children we serve have plenty of food to eat — plus, they can be a fun team-building activity!
We have a flier ready for you to print to help spread the word about your food drive, or let us know if there is anything else we can provide to make it easier for you!
Food Pantry Needs
Each week we send home each of the following items with the children we serve. We are constantly in need of donations of:
- Granola bars (no nuts)
- Fruit cups
- Dried fruit, raisins, Craisins (individual packages)
- Snacks like crackers, Goldfish, cookies, etc. (individual packages)
- Instant oatmeal (individual packages)
- Canned ravioli/SpaghettiOs
- Canned soups
- Applesauce (individual packages)
- Instant mashed potato packets
- Rice packets/Rice-A-Roni
- Canned tuna/chicken
- Pasta/ramen noodles
- Pasta sauce
- Cereal like Cheerios, Total, Life, Shredded Wheat or frosted flakes (individual boxes)
Fun Food Drive Ideas
There are so many fun ways to host a food drive to make a difference for the families we serve while building community within your company or group. Try one of these ideas or come up with your own:
Departmental Showdown
Compete by department, floor or team to see who can collect the most items. Track the progress with a shared leaderboard or a visual like a thermometer. Compete for a pizza party, casual dress day, annual trophy or just bragging rights!
Theme Days
Coordinate a classic spirit week in the office with themed days to boost morale and keep donations coming in. Here are some easy ideas:
Breakfast Bonanza Monday: Pajama Day and bring in donations of:
- Granola bars (no nuts)
- Instant oatmeal (individual packets)
- Individual boxes of cereal
Snack Attack Tuesday: Wacky Tacky Day (mismatched clothes, crazy socks) and bring in donations of:
- Fruit cups
- Dried fruit, raisins, Craisins (individual packages)
- Crackers, Goldfish, cookies (individual packages)
- Applesauce (individual cups/pouches)
Warm & Cozy Wednesday: Sweater Weather Day and bring in donations of:
- Canned soups
- Canned ravioli/SpaghettiOs
- Instant mashed potato packets
- Rice-a-Roni or rice packets
Protein Power Thursday: Superhero Day and bring in donations of:
- Canned tuna
- Canned chicken
- Pasta
- Ramen noodles
Red Friday: Don your Chiefs gear for Red Friday and bring in donations of these Chiefs-colored foods:
- Pasta
- Pasta sauce
- Macaroni & cheese
Decorate Your Donation Box
Encourage teams to decorate their food collection boxes. Turn this into a competition for even more fun, holding a vote for “Most Creative,” “Most On-Theme” or “Funniest.”
Sponsor the Food Pantry for a Month
Challenge your company or group to sponsor our food pantry for an entire month! This is a great way to make a huge impact for kids and families. Some groups choose to purchase the food items themselves, and others simply raise funds and The Children’s Place purchases them.
Pool Donations Together
Are cash donations an easier option for your team? Monetary donations are always welcomed for our food pantry and can allow us to purchase the most needed items at any time. Contact Amanda Steitz, Stewardship & Volunteer Coordinator, at steitza@childrensplacekc.org or 816.363.1898 to learn more about this.
Community Awareness
We love to highlight the corporations and groups who host food drives for The Children’s Place! We share thank you messages on our social media and sometimes even our email newsletter.
This is an easy way to help spread the word about your company’s generosity and the impact you have on the community.
Volunteer in the Food Pantry
Many groups like to help volunteer on-site in our food pantry after their food drive to stock the donations they collected and prepare backpacks for the week.
Our food pantry is housed in a very small room, so this volunteer opportunity is only for one to three people. The project lasts approximately an hour and typically takes place on Thursdays at 10 a.m. This can be a one-time volunteer commitment or longer, and is open to volunteers ages 13 or older as long as they are accompanied by an adult. Learn more and sign up here.
Learn More
Questions? Please contact Amanda Steitz, Volunteer & Stewardship Coordinator, at 816.363.1898 or steitza@childrensplacekc.org.
Thank you for your help stocking our food pantry!
“Thank you for the food backpack program! My family is having a difficult time right now and the food really makes a difference."
– Caregiver who receives food each week through this program