The Food Project was started in a small Southern Oregon town called Ashland in January 2009 by a group of residents who wanted to make it easy for people to donate food to the Ashland Emergency Food Bank. They realized that many of their neighbors wanted to help fight hunger but for one reason or another never get around to it. So they created a simple door-to-door food collection system to enable them to pitch in.
They had three goals:
1. To provide a regular supply of food to our hungry neighbors
2. To create new neighborhood connections and strengthen our community
3. To serve as a model for other communities
Armed with brochures that proclaimed, “You want to help, We want to make it easy!,” Ashland Food Project volunteers canvassed their own neighborhoods, knocking on doors and inviting their neighbors to participate. Whenever people said “Yes,” AFP volunteers suggested that they buy just one extra nonperishable food item each week, and store it at home. The volunteers promised to stop by their homes every 2 months, pick the food up and take it directly to the food bank.
The project started with a core group of 10 volunteers picking up food. About a year later, there were over 150 in 3 different towns. The first Pickup Day, in 2009, netted about 600 pounds of food. By December, 2011, they were picking up more than 36,000 lbs. county-wide, every two months.
There are now 60+ Food Projects across the country, with more ready to get started. We’re honored that you have consider becoming a part of this program sharing food with neighbors and building a stronger community. It’s our hope that as a volunteer you will have fun, grow, get to know people and feel generally good about yourself and your town.
STEAC brought the Food Project to Davis, California in 2015. We found that our supplies often ran short between food drives and those in need, especially the children, were not getting the necessary nutrition. Several STEAC volunteers offered to help get the program started by becoming Neighborhood Coordinators. These pioneers signed up over a 100 Food Donors for our first pick up in June 2015. Today it has become a key part in keeping our shelves stocked.
The Food Project was started in a small Southern Oregon town called Ashland in January 2009 by a group of residents who wanted to make it easy for people to donate food to the Ashland Emergency Food Bank. They realized that many of their neighbors wanted to help fight hunger but for one reason or another never get around to it. So they created a simple door-to-door food collection system to enable them to pitch in.
They had three goals:
1. To provide a regular supply of food to our hungry neighbors
2. To create new neighborhood connections and strengthen our community
3. To serve as a model for other communities
Armed with brochures that proclaimed, “You want to help, We want to make it easy!,” Ashland Food Project volunteers canvassed their own neighborhoods, knocking on doors and inviting their neighbors to participate. Whenever people said “Yes,” AFP volunteers suggested that they buy just one extra nonperishable food item each week, and store it at home. The volunteers promised to stop by their homes every 2 months, pick the food up and take it directly to the food bank.
The project started with a core group of 10 volunteers picking up food. About a year later, there were over 150 in 3 different towns. The first Pickup Day, in 2009, netted about 600 pounds of food. By December, 2011, they were picking up more than 36,000 lbs. county-wide, every two months.
There are now 40+ Food Projects across the country, with more ready to get started. We’re honored that you have consider becoming a part of this program sharing food with neighbors and building a stronger community. It’s our hope that as a volunteer you will have fun, grow, get to know people and feel generally good about yourself and your town.
STEAC brought the Food Project to Davis in 2015. We found that our supplies often ran short between food drives and those in need, especially the children, were not getting the necessary nutrition. Several STEAC volunteers offered to help get the program started by becoming Neighborhood Coordinators. These pioneers signed up over a 100 Food Donors for our first pick up in June 2015. Today it has become a key part in keeping our shelves stocked.