Hays County Organizations Challenged to Collect Healthy Food For County-Wide Food Drive

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Food Drives and Fundraisers are less frequent during the spring and summer months, but the need is still very much there. Events are plentiful during the holiday season at the end of the year, just not as often during the rest of the year. Hunger knows no season, and the Hays County Food Bank is encouraging the county to consider two annual food drives a year instead of just one or none.

The Spring Harvest Healthy Food Drive Challenge kicks off on April 1st and will run until May 15th. Schools, churches, businesses, civic groups, etc. are encouraged to gather food, preferably healthy items, during this time. All food items will need to be turned in within the following two weeks by May 27th. Drop offs should be scheduled Monday-Thursday from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Depending on the size of your food drive, the Food Bank may be able to pick up your food.

If your food donation is over 500 pounds (approximately, 500 cans), there is limited availability for food drive pick-ups, based on driver and van availability. If you are eligible to have your food drive picked up, please call the Operations Department at 512-392-8300 x235 to arrange for pickup.

Designated pick up times are Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. However, if you are able to deliver, please do, as that helps us to maintain efficiency and to keep costs down, allowing us to serve an even greater number of families in need.

It is required that you register your food drive at http://haysfoodbank.org/donate/event-registration-form/ and put in a date and time for your drop off. We want to ensure we have adequate space and staff to assist with your food collections. You can also visit http://haysfoodbank.org/events/spring-harvest-healthy-food-drive-challenge/ for more information on this food drive.

There is a food drive toolkit that has our logo usage policy and logos to download for use to help in promoting your event. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Communications Coordinator, Mallory Raschke atmraschke@haysfoodbank.org or at (512) 392-8300 x226.

This specific food drive has two goals.

The first goal is to stock the Food Bank’s shelves with healthier nonperishable food items to help fight some health concerns with people who live in poverty.

The second goal is to help build awareness regarding the Food Bank and the efforts it is taking to promote healthy eating habits to the food insecure. Healthier options go a much longer way in keeping someone full versus the overly processed items that most of those who struggle with food security can typically afford.

The winner of the Spring Harvest Healthy Food Drive Challenge will be announced via social media on May 30th. The winning team will receive the chainsaw crafted traveling trophy for this event, constructed by Doug Moreland. The Food Bank hopes to continue this drive annually, so the winner is encouraged to defend their title in the second annual event in 2017. Imagine if 20 teams collected 2,000 pounds of food each. That’s 40,000 pounds to help feed the hungry in the community, which makes the real winners those who rely on the Hays County Food Bank for nutritious foods. Good luck to everyone!