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Donate Food

Host a Food or Fund Drive


donate food

Donated food is vital to helping us provide food to neighbors struggling with food insecurity.

Food and Fund Drives put the power of giving in your hands. Whether it’s a bag of groceries from your pantry, a food drive held at an office, or a truckload of eggs from a distribution center, donated food is an integral part of our distribution to our network of over 160 food cupboards and social service agencies so they can serve those in need in our community. We partner with organizations big and small to reduce food waste and source high-quality, nutritious food. We also gratefully accept food donations from our community, all of which supports us so we can help those in need.

We have a continuous need for food and fund drives.

The Food Bank is housed in a 36,000 sq. ft. facility that enables us to safely receive and store all sizes of donations. There is an increase in the number of people that are going to cupboards and social service agencies for assistance but may not qualify for SNAP (food stamps) or other government nutrition assistance programs. Donated food from the community enables our partner agencies and us to provide food to anyone in need. Thanks to the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Law, donors are protected from civil and criminal liability when making donations. Additionally, retailers and food industry partners are eligible for tax incentives for their donations. 

Your support is needed now more than ever!

Over 40,000 people in Chester County are experiencing food insecurity. By hosting an in-person or online collection, you will make a direct impact in providing nourishing food to our neighbors in need. Engage your friends, colleagues, or social network to unite and make a difference! Start your food or fund drive today!


Food Drive Toolkit

Getting Started with Your Food Drive

1. Create a plan for your food drive
Decide if you will collect food, funds, or both. Setting a goal and time frame helps add energy and a sense of urgency to your drive. Make it fun and consider competition between your groups, departments, or classes to collect the most pounds or number of boxes/cans as well as money collected. When hosting a physical food collection, we have seen that a themed drive brings better success for hosts because people can easily remember a select number of items or the theme. 

Consider hosting a virtual food drive or team fundraiser along with your traditional food drive. Please keep in mind that we prefer items that are not in glass! Once we have a plan, please register your food drive.

2. Arrange your food drive supplies
The Food Bank does not supply collection bins/boxes. Copy paper boxes and plastic totes work well for most organizations. Use our printable flyers and posters to promote your food drive or create your own; we ask that you include the CCFB logo in promoting your event. You can download our logo from the toolkit below. 

3. Promote your food drive
Distribute flyers, send emails, post to your website and announce on social media that you are hosting a food drive for the Chester County Food Bank. Don’t forget to take pictures during your food drive. Be sure to tag us! #chestercountyfoodbank. You can also email pictures to food@chestercountyfoodbank.org.

4. Get everyone involved
From management to staff, customers to vendors, get everyone on board with the collection that you are doing for the Chester County Food Bank. Consider a match program where you or your company will match what is collected in pounds with a cash donation or equivalent pounds. Incorporate a volunteer day with your food drive. Hosting a virtual food drive or team fundraiser along with your traditional food drive is a great way to get remote team members involved.

5. Delivering your food drive
Transportation is a significant cost for the Chester County Food Bank and it is challenging to arrange food drive pick-ups around our daily scheduled food deliveries to member agencies. We encourage you to bring your donation directly to CCFB. Please indicate your delivery date on your food drive registration. The Food Bank is located at 650 Pennsylvania Dr., in Exton (Eagleview Corporate Center). Warehouse hours are Monday – Friday 8a-5p.

Most Needed Food Items

We focus on providing the most nutritious food to those we serve. With concerns about rising rates of obesity, food banks are increasingly aware of the need to improve the nutritional quality of charitable food. The list below represents our highest food priorities so we can provide the most nutritious food to those that we serve. We ask that you help us to provide items with the most nutritional value by donating food items that are whole grain, low sodium/sugar, and do not contain high fructose corn syrup, trans-fats, or partially hydrogenated oils.  All items should be recently purchased (not expired). We are unable to accept homemade food items. We prefer that items not be packaged in glass. Please contact food@chestercountyfoodbank.org or call 610-873-6000 option 5 with questions. Consider hosting a virtual food drive or team fundraiser along with your traditional food drive.

This list covers the items the individuals we serve regularly need. Please note we do not accept glass or opened items.

MOST NEEDED FOOD ITEMS

Most Needed Holiday Food Items

  • Canned Vegetables no/low sodium
  • Instant Mashed / Scallop Potatoes
  • Gravy (cans/packets, no glass please)
  • Stuffing Mix
  • Rice (regular and instant)
  • Macaroni & Cheese
  • Applesauce
  • Broth/boillion
  • Olive Oil (no glass please)
  • Turkeys (under 20 lbs. preferred)
  • Hams

Other Greatly Needed Pantry Items

  • Cereal
  • Canned Tuna, Salmon & Chicken
  • Canned Soup & Stews (pop-top appreciated)
  • Fruit (in juice), canned & individual cups
  • Healthy Snacks for Kids (nut free trail mix, popcorn, individual peanut butters)
  • Peanut, Almond & Sun Butters
  • Breakfast Cereal / Oatmeal
  • Brown Rice
  • Pasta Sauce / Canned Tomatoes
  • Cooking Oils (Olive & Canola)
  • Herbs & Spices
  • Crackers whole grain
  • Peanut Butter (no high fructose corn syrup, look for the brown lid) 
  • Dried / Canned Fruits in juice
  • Whole grain granola bars / snacks
  • Condiments, Dressings

PLEASE NO GLASS OR EXPIRED ITEMS!

***low-sodium, low-sugar, no high fructose corn syrup when possible***

Consider including non-food items that are not able to be purchased using SNAP (food stamps).
Among the everyday grocery items, you can not purchase using SNAP are:

  • can openers
  • personal hygiene (e.g. deodorant/toothpaste)
  • feminine hygiene (e.g. tampons/pads)
  • diapers
  • toilet paper
  • paper towels/tissues
  • cleaning supplies
  • paper plates/cups
Delivery Details

Please consider delivery to our warehouse as part of your food donation. We are located at 650 Pennsylvania Drive in Exton, PA. Food donation pick-up is cost-prohibitive to us in addition to our regular delivery schedule to our community agency network. Please bring food donations to our warehouse loading dock entrance where you can pull directly in and will be assisted in unloading your vehicle. Food donations left after hours will have to be disposed of for safety precautions.

Hours for Delivering Food Donations & Food Drives:

Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

If donating fresh produce please try to donate earlier in the week so we can process it and distribute it at its freshest.

Food Sources: 50% Purchased • 29% Donated • 21% Government

Retail & Food Industry

We are able to partner with local, regional and national retail grocery stores and food industry partners such as manufacturers, distributors, producers, and trucking companies to rescue food that cannot be sold but is otherwise good to eat. The rescued donations become available for a variety reasons such as overproduction, mislabeling or complications with delivery. We are capable of accepting bulk quantities of dry, shelf-stable, refrigerated and frozen food items. We follow USDA and health department guidelines to ensure the safety of all incoming food items—from a few boxes to delivery from a tractor trailer. All food donors are protected under the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.

If you are a commercial business or wholesaler interested in making a bulk donation please contact Catie Mahoney 610-873-6000 x125.


Ways to Help

Host a Food Drive

Anytime is a great time to host a food drive! Food drives are a great hands-on way to help us stock pantry shelves! Get started with your food drive by registering your event and then reviewing our food drive toolkit. Consider adding an online fund drive to maximize your impact.

Host a Virtual Food Drive / Online Fundraiser

Forget the heavy lifting and set up a virtual food drive / online fundraiser in a few easy clicks. Monetary contributions make the biggest impact, thanks to our bulk purchasing power. Our online giving platform makes it easy to virtually gather your group to contribute to a larger goal.

Host a Fundraiser

From bake sales to special events, there are countless ways to host a fundraiser for the Food Bank. Your event (we call them third-party events) has the opportunity to make a significant impact by spreading awareness and collecting valuable resources for our community.