Food & Fund Drives
Help Us Provide Services Where They’re Needed Most
Thousands of people in Jackson County face hunger. As the local food bank, ACCESS leverages funds from donors and purchases four meals with every $1 donated.
Virtual Food Drive
Virtual Food Drives allow you to choose which foods you would like to purchase for the food bank, including fresh and healthy foods that we’re sometimes unable to collect at traditional food drives.
Donations go directly to ACCESS so that, when possible, we can purchase from local grocery stores at a discounted rate.
Host a Food Drive
You can help fight hunger in our community! Host a food drive in your neighborhood or with a group (like a workplace, school, church group, social club, or charitable organization). Donated items can be dropped off at ACCESS Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 3:30pm.
Host a Fund Drive
Because we can make bulk purchases with donated funds, our cost of food per pound is far lower. Cash donations also keep our freezers running and our trucks on the road. Online fundraising campaigns are a great way to engage your family, friends, co-workers, and customers in the fight against hunger.
Food & Fund Drive Tips
Identify a goal. How long will your collection period be and how many people will participate? Choose a goal that’s challenging, but attainable. Measure impact using meals:
$1 = 4 meals
$10.00 = 40 meals
Choose your collection method. Depending on the size of your food drive, bags and/or boxes work well. Use your own or call ACCESS’ Nutrition Department to request a collection barrel from the ACCESS warehouse.
Email ACCESS and request materials and support. You may need:
- Poster templates – ACCESS Food Drive Poster Template PDF
- ACCESS logos – Download the ACCESS Logos
- Suggested themes and ideas
- Ideas to create incentive
- Collection barrels
- An online fundraising page
Spread the word! Let people know how they can participate and generate excitement. Make it fun, informational and impactful. Use a variety of communications platforms: direct emails and texts, social posts and challenges, newsletter announcements, bulletin board posters …whatever will get eyes on your efforts. Provide incentives for people to donate, like offering a discount to customers for donations or time off work for the employee who collects the most food or money.
Food & Fund Drive Kit
Our step-by-step Food & Fund Drive Kit gives you all the information you need to run a successful drive – from how to get started, to most needed foods, and a checklist.
Creative Ways to Host a Drive
- Host a birthday food drive and request food items and/or monetary donations to ACCESS’ Nutrition Program in place of birthday gifts.
- Collect recyclable cans and bottles at home, work, or school and then donate the money raised to ACCESS, or use it to purchase food for ACCESS’ Nutrition Program.
- Donate proceeds from your garage sale or bake sale to ACCESS’ Nutrition Program.
- Host a food drive at work or school with a wish list of foods and a bin for donations. Ask departments or classrooms to collect different food groups or provide employees with a paper bag and ask that the bags be returned full of non-perishable food items. Distribute flyers in employee mailboxes or send flyers home with students.
Wish List of Foods
We work hard to provide a variety of foods to meet needs and we do our best to make those foods as nutritious as possible (low in fat, salt, and sugar). Here are some most needed food pantry items:
- Peanut/Almond Butter
- Canned meats such as tuna, chicken and salmon
- Shelf stable milk
- Cooking oil
- Cereals and Flours (whole grains, low sugar preferred)
- Rice/Grains/Beans/Lentils (canned or dried)
- Mac and cheese (whole grain preferred)
- Soups, stews or chili (sodium 480 mg or less preferred)
- Pasta (whole wheat preferred) and canned tomatoes or sauce (no salt added preferred)
- Canned vegetables and fruits (canned in water preferred)
Promotional Resources
- ACCESS Food Drive Poster Template PDF (add the date and your logo)
- ACCESS Logo – Food Drives
- Online Fundraising Page
Tips for Food Shopping
- Choose pop-top lids when available
- Look for no or low sodium items – they have less than 140 mg of sodium per serving
- Look for no or low added sugars – check ingredient list and avoid if sugar is in the top three ingredients
- Consider gluten free items
- Focus on foods for meals rather than snacks and desserts
- Check that food is within the expiration date
Items We Cannot Accept
- Rusty or unlabeled cans
- Perishable items (fresh/prepared foods, refrigerated/frozen foods)
- Homemade foods
- Non-commercial canned or packaged items
- Alcoholic beverages, mixes or sodas
- Opened or used items
Transporting Collected Food
After your event, drop off donations at our warehouse at 3630 Aviation Way, Medford, Oregon 97504. When you save ACCESS transportation costs and staff time, the impact of your food & fund donations is amplified. ACCESS may be available to drop off and pick up barrels, as needed, when prior arrangements are made. Please make arrangements a minimum of two weeks prior to your event so staff can plan to pick up your donations.
Report your Drive Success
ACCESS will mail you a letter with the total pounds and dollars your food and fund drive collects. You can use the same communications platforms – emails, social media, newsletters and posters to thank those who contributed and to report fundraising successes.
Food & Fund Drive FAQs
You can use the Food & Fund Drive posters PDF to help publicize your event, and feel free to download the ACCESS logos. If it’s a public event, email us your flyer in PDF format and we will list your event on ACCESS’ Facebook page.
ACCESS Nutrition Programs can provide large (55 gallon) barrels marked with the ACCESS logo. Each barrel holds approximately 150 pounds of food. To make arrangements, please email us to submit your event information at least two weeks ahead of the event. While we cannot guarantee it, we will try to meet your requested delivery and pick-up dates.
Drop off your food donations at ACCESS, 3630 Aviation Way in Medford. Park on the right side of the main building and ring the warehouse bell behind the building. Please bring your donations between the hours of 8:00am and 4:00pm.
ACCESS will send you a letter stating the weight of the food collected.
ACCESS’ Nutrition Program distributes food collected through food drives to a network of hunger-relief agencies. These agencies include pantries that distribute emergency food, soup kitchens, shelters, and other services in Jackson County that help low-income individuals and families. A typical visit to a food pantry provides a three to five-day supply of food for a family.
Make checks payable to ACCESS and mail to ACCESS, PO Box 4666, Medford, OR 97501. Please bring cash donations to the ACCESS Main Office at 3630 Aviation Way, Medford, OR 97504, we accept donations Monday-Friday from 8:00am until 4:30pm.
Yes, those who make a monetary donation (via a Fund Drive) will receive a thank-you letter with the amount of the donation. For Food Drives, we are unable to provide a receipt but can tell you the weight in pounds of food donated.
Contact Us
If you have questions or are looking for ways to better engage your family, friends, co-workers and customers in your drive, contact the ACCESS Food Bank Supervisor at (541) 774-4321.
