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Food/Fund Drives

1 in 7 people in our area are at risk of food insecurity, including 1 in 5 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: 

  • 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 hosting a fund drive and would like to use our logo for promotions, please use the contact form below to submit your request.
  • If you are promoting your fund drive online and tag @FoodBankSouthernTier on Facebook, we would be happy to share it to our Facebook page! 
  • Are you hosting a fundraiser? 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:

10 + 8 =

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:

13 + 4 =

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.