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Food/Fund Drives

1 in 8 people in our area are at risk of food insecurity, and 1/3 of all requests for food are for children. Hunger is a serious problem—but YOU can help!   

Food Drive or Fund Drive?

Fund Drive

The most impactful way to support local hunger-relief efforts is to donate funds. This is because the Food Bank receives reduced cost and surplus commodities, and we are a wholesale food purchaser with the ability to buy in bulk. While one can of soup costs a consumer $1 at the supermarket, the Food Bank can purchase multiple cans of soup with that same $1. 

Every dollar donated to the Food Bank makes a difference:  

  • $25 provides 75 meals   
  • $50 provides 150 meals   
  • $100 provides 300 meals   
  • $250 provides 750 meals   
  • $500 provides 1500 meals   
  • $1000 provides 3000 meals   

 Tips & tricks to make your Fund Drive a success: 

  • The Just Giving platform makes digital fundraisers easy! The Food Bank has a Just Giving page, allowing you to customize your fundraiser and share it with your network: 

https://www.justgiving.com/thecatholiccharitiesfoodbankofthesoutherntier 

  • If you would like to mail us a physical check, please make the check and envelope out to Food Bank of the Southern Tier. Feel free to include a note with information about your fundraiser. Our mailing address is: 388 Upper Oakwood Ave., Elmira, New York 14903.  
  • If you are promoting your fund drive online and tag @FoodBankSouthernTier on Facebook, we would be happy to share it to our Facebook page! 
  • You can add some fun competition to your fund drive with an online gaming component! Compete to see who can scan the most food the fastest, then donate to the Food Bank. Here is a sample of a previous campaign, that we could customize with your group’s information: https://fooddriveonline.org/foodbankst/index.php?s=vfd 
  • Are you hosting a fundraiser and interested in having a Food Bank representative attend? Please fill out the form below.

Please enter your information here.

Event type:

If a Food Bank representative is able to attend, would you like them to:

14 + 3 =

Please note that due to time constraints, we are unable to attend check presentation for donations under $5,000 at this time. 

Thank you for your interest in the Food Bank of the Southern Tier! A member of our team will respond shortly. 

Food Drives 

We often hear from community members interested in hosting a food drive to collect cans and other non-perishable items to donate to the Food Bank. While we certainly appreciate this generosity, the reality of having a six-county service area means that the staff time and fuel costs to pick up a donation may be more of an expense to us than the cost if we were to purchase those same food items. If you would like to host a food drive, we can connect you with our local pantry partners in your area, to see if they are interested in receiving the food items.  

Please enter your information here:

2 + 10 =

Please note that for large donations of 500+ pounds, we may be able to arrange for our truck to pick the food up when it is in your area. 

Non-perishable items that are often helpful: Peanut butter, canned tuna or chicken, canned soups, canned fruits/vegetables, boxed macaroni, dry pastas, apple sauce, oats.

Items that our partners cannot accept: Anything perishable, damaged/dented/rusted cans, items with expired sell-by dates of more than one year old, items without ingredient labels, baby formula.