Ten Year Anniversary | 10 of Our Favorite Food Drives

We have organized thousands of food drives since 2009, and we've loved every single one of them, but they are a few that hold an extra special place in our heart. To celebrate our 10th Anniversary, we've put together a list of 10 of the most memorable food drives from our decade of fighting hunger.

Broken Arrow (OK) Public Schools Annual Food Drive

The Broken Arrow Public Schools have hosted a district-widefood drive for the last  7 years. Students, parents, teachers, faculty, administrators, and local residents, alike, always love collecting food to help out their neighbors in need. This food drive began in 2013 when Candy Lievsay, a teacher at Sequoyah Middle School, read an article about Move For Hunger, and knew she wanted to help make a difference. If all this food drive did was teach children the importance of giving back to their community, we would consider it a success. But the amount of food that the schools donate every year is critical to their local food pantry. In 2017, the Broken Arrow schools collected a record 12,891 lbs., which is enough to provide 10,740 meals! And over the past seven years, they have collected nearly 90,000 lbs. of food, which our friens from Accent Moving & Storage have so graciously delivered to Broken Arrow Neighbors, a local emergency basic needs service agency. 

Xander Bossone's Annual Birthday Fill-a-Truck Food Drive 

For eight years, New Jersey teen Xander Bossone held a Fill-a-Truck Food Drive on his birthday to help fight hunger in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Our friends from Lowy's Moving Service, a Wheaton World Wide agent, were always kind enough to provide the truck to fill with non-perishable food items and delivered the donations to Fulfill. Xander collected a lifetime total of more than 27,000 lbs. of food, which is equivalent to 22,000 meals! Xander is proof that you're never too young to make a difference! 

Move Out For Hunger

Since 2011, Food Recovery Network has partnered with colleges and universities all across the country to rescue food from dining halls on campus and deliver it to local pantries.  For the past 2 years, we have worked together to host Move Out For Hunger food drives at college campuses all across the country.  This unique event marked the first collaborative effort between two organizations who provide sustainable solutions to food waste and hunger in the United States. Students were asked to bring any unopened, non-perishable items that they had in their dorm rooms/apartments to the Move Out For Hunger collection points on campus. We arranged for a moving company to pick up the donations and deliver them to the local food bank or pantry. In 2018, students at 5 colleges donated more than 3,200 lbs. of food, which helped provide 2,600 meals for those in need! We look forward to this year's Move Out For Hunger Food Drive and cannot wait to help with this one for years to come! 

Helga Drabin's 90th Birthday Food Drive

Helga Drabin of Coconut Creek, Florida hosted a food drive on her birthday for five consecutive years. Instead of asking her guests for presents, Helga  requested that they donate non-perishable food items. In 2017, on her 90th birthday, she collected 1,250 lbs., which was enough to provide 1,040 meals for her neighbors in need! During the 5 years that Helga hosted her food drive, she collected more than 3,700 lbs. of food! Beltmann Relocation Group's branch in Pompano Beach was always happy to pick up and deliver the donations. Helga is proof that it's possible for a small group of people to make a big difference! 

NASMM's 100 Can Challenge

The National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) has held their annual 100 Can Challenge for the past five years. Members of their network are encouraged to hold food drives and collect at least 100 cans of non-perishable food items to show their support for Move For Hunger. Last year, 33 companies across the United States participated, and NASMM broke their record by collecting a grand total of 7,064 lbs. of food, which is equal to nearly 5,900 meals! That's amazing, but we think they are going to top it in 2019! Thank you to everyone at NASMM for your continued support! 

Altair Global CANS their CEO

In November of 2017, our partners from Altair Global Relocation held their first Can the CEO Food Drive. Altair had one goal: fill so many boxes with donations of non-perishable food that their CEO, Chad Sterling, wouldn’t be able to get into his office! More than 770 lbs. of food was donated, which is the equivalent of 640 meals. Although it wasn’t quite enough to fill Sterling’s office (it’s pretty big!), the Altair team did manage to surround his desk. Not bad for their first food drive! Our friends from Daryl Flood Relocation & Logistics of Coppell provided boxes for the donations and delivered them to the North Texas Food Bank. 

Fighting Childhood Hunger One Backpack at a Time

From 2011-2018, Lauryn Hinckley organized the “Fighting Childhood Hunger One Backpack at a Time” food drive. The goal was to help support the Missouri Slope Areawide United Way’s backpack program, which provides food insecure children in Bismarck & Mandan, ND with backpacks filled with food to take home on weekends. Lauryn's food drive continued to grow every year. Dozens of local schools and businesses served as collection points. Members of our network have provided boxes for the event and delivered the donations to the United Way. In 2018, more than 10,500 lbs. of peanut butter and jelly were donated, which provided 8,750 meals for children in need! Thank you, Lauryn, for everything you’ve done to raise awareness about childhood hunger in North Dakota .

Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty's Annual Food Drive

For the past six years, Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty (PPSIR) has held a massive food drive to help fight hunger in New Jersey. “With so many people in our community who need our help, it is essential that we do whatever we can to assist them,” said Charles Oppler, Co-Owner of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty. Since 2013, PPSIR has donated more than 73,000 lbs. of food to their local food banks/pantries.  Thank you to PPSIR for always lending a helping hand to your neighbors in need!

CORT Collects 3.5 Tons of Food

Our partners from CORT Furniture Rental held a food drive challenge between 16 of its locations across the United States in November of 2017. Prizes were awarded to the location that donated the most items per employee, and to the district with the most creative food drive. Nearly 7,300 lbs. of food was collected in total, which is enough to provide more than 6,000 meals! The contest ran from November 1-15, and the donations were personally delivered to local food banks just in time for Thanksgiving. The Kalamazoo branch earned “most creative food drive” honors by making a furniture set out of their donations, while the Omaha branch collected the most items per employee. The winning districts each received $500 towards their office holiday party.

Celina Moving & Storage Makes a Difference after Hurricane Harvey

Celina Moving & Storage, an Atlas Van Lines agent, has offices in both Celina, OH and Belleville, TX.  When Hurricane Harvey hit in late 2017, many of their employees in Texas were affected by the storm. Thankfully, Celina's staff in Ohio knew there was a way they could help -- by organizing a food drive!  They got the entire community involved by partnering with local schools, colleges, and churches. All together they managed to collect nearly 23,000 pounds of food — which is enough to provide more than 19,000 meals. Celina Moving & Storage personally delivered all of the donations to the Bellville Chamber of Commerce, where they were distributing the food for the victims and those in need. 

Want to help us celebrate our 10 Year Anniversary? Take the Team 10 Challenge!