Urban Ministries’ of Wake County offers the second largest food pantry in Wake County. We need more than 45,000 pounds of food each month to feed hungry families in Wake County! Would you help those who are in need by organizing a food drive in your place of worship, workplace, school, or neighborhood? It is a fun, simple, and meaningful way to give back to the community – and we REALLY need your help!
We have a strong need for healthy, non-perishable items for our neighbors in need. Here are a few simple steps to HOLDING A FOOD DRIVE.
1) PLAN
Decide when you will hold your food drive – choose a date, time, and collection point. Determine the length of drive (usually no more than two weeks). Please let us know in advance when you will be holding your drive.
2) SET UP
Set up your collection bins in an indoor visible place. Ask people to drop off items in bags. They are easier to handle. No glass jars or bottles, please. These can break easily.
3) PREPARE
Make a copy of our list of needed items. This is a Word document. At the bottom of the document, you can insert details about your food drive, such as when the drive will be held and where to deliver the items. It’s a good idea to copy this on brightly colored paper.
Many groups choose to staple these lists to brown paper grocery bags. (Many grocery stores will donate brown bags if you tell them it’s for a Food Drive.) That way, people can take the brown bag to fill while they shop. (Or you can do without the bags and just distribute the flyers.) It’s up to you!
4) PROMOTE
Encourage executives, worship leaders, school principals, etc. to send emails and voice messages promoting the drive.
5) BE CREATIVE!
You can hold a food drive in many ways! The important thing is to make it fun and simple.
Consider a theme for your drive (e.g. collect soup for a SOUPer Bowl party; a peanut butter and jelly drive for an elementary-age drive; items surrounding a holiday theme, etc.)
Some groups want to collect only one item, such as canned meats or beans. Other groups collect all the items on the list. Again, it’s up to you – we can use it all!
6) DELIVERY
You can deliver the collected items to our Food Pantry during the week day (please call in advance to schedule a time). Or, if you collect a large amount of food (usually more than 50 bags), we can make arrangements during weekday afternoons (best time is between 2 -4 p.m.) to pick up the food with our truck at the end of the Food Drive. Just let us know where to come. To schedule a food pickup, please contact Josephine Charles, Pantry Manager, at (919) 256-2170.
7) PANTRY WORK SESSION
Some groups want to schedule a work session in our Food Pantry to bring in the collected canned goods and shelve them in our Food Pantry. We usually can accommodate only
8-10 people in the Food Pantry at once – so you would need to designate who would be coming in. The best time for work sessions are weekday afternoons between 2 – 5 p.m. Other groups just wish to deliver the food without shelving. If you wish to schedule a work session, please contact Laura Ridgeway at (919) 256-2170 or email at Lridgeway@urbanmin.org.
8) The Food Pantry is closed during the weekends.
THE ONE TON CLUB
At a time when food pantries across the country are facing shortages, Urban Ministries 
of Wake County, has received generous donations from the faith community, service organizations, schools, corporations, and the community at large. In 2010 alone, supporters contributed more than 200 tons of food to the Pantry. The following organizations contributed more nearly one ton of food in the past calendar year:
COMMUNITY DONATONS
- Crossroads Fellowship (11,210 pounds)
- Edenton Street United Methodist Church (9,040 pounds)
- Bible Applications Class (7,426 pounds)
- Curves for Women (5,330 pounds)
- White Memorial Presbyterian Church (5,142 pounds)
- West Raleigh Exchange Club (4,580 pounds)
- Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church/Cameron Park Neighborhood (4,570 pounds)
- Western Boulevard Presbyterian Church (4,326 pounds)
- Sunshine Seniors (3,906 pounds)
- Journeys — A Spiritual Community (3,573 pounds)
- North Raleigh United Methodist Church (3,337 pounds)
- Community United Church of Christ (3,120 pounds)
- Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church (2,496 pounds)
- Ravenscroft School (2,408 pounds)
- Saint James United Methodist Church (2,281 pounds)
- Saint Philip Lutheran Church (2,273 pounds)
- Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church (2,204 pounds)
- Kiwanis Club of Raleigh (2,030 pounds)
- First Presbyterian Church (1,972 pounds)
- Swift Creek Elementary School (1,879 pounds)
- Umstead Park United Church of Christ (1,850 pounds)
In this challenging economic climate, demand for food continues to be strong,” reports Anne Burke, Executive Director, Urban Ministries of Wake County. “We are so grateful to area congregations and communityorganizations – both large and small — that have shown an outpouring of support for the neediest Wake County residents. The rising costs of food and gas are felt by every household – we are truly moved by the generosity of the Wake County community.”
In addition, Urban Ministries is grateful to the significant contributions of partnering agencies, Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC and The Interfaith Food Shuttle, helping to get food to the tables of families in Wake County.
If your organization is interested in holding a Food Drive for Urban Ministries, please contact Laura Ridgeway at 919.256.2168 or email: Lridgeway@urbanmin.org.
