I’ve been talking about the “Food for Thought Project“, for a while now. It’s one of my favorite ways to help those in need right here in Forsyth County!
If you haven’t heard about it yet, simply put, the Food for Thought Project, is a community based, ongoing door to door food drive. They currently serve Cumming & Forsyth County. It was launched in April 2011, by two local families in Cumming, GA.
Have you Signed Up?
I highly encourage all Cumming Local readers to sign up to participate (just involves filling out an online form with contact information). A bright orange reusable bag will be delivered to your doorstep. Fill the bag up with non-perishable items & on the second Saturday of every month, a volunteer will pick the bag up (from your doorstep), and leave another bag in its place! The filled bag will then be sorted & all food collected will be taken to local food pantries. The empty bag is yours to fill up again & get ready for the next pick up date!
Click here to learn more about “tips to filling up your bag” and more about “how it works”.
Can You do More?
The Food for Thought Project has picked up 21,758 lbs of food to date and has 467 families participating! Even restaurants are getting involved! Mia’s Pizza & Eats has sponsored several events and now offers a Perpetual Fundraiser to Benefit FFTP.
But today, I’m challenging you with the question … “can you do more”? Every pick-up day, Food for Thought relies on volunteers to become “pick-up drivers”. These drivers are equipped with everything needed to run a successful pickup. A Food for Thought team member will deliver your route map, directions, supplies, etc. a couple of days in advance. Everything is so organized and geared towards making it as easy as possible. You simply donate your gas and your time.
It’s a GREAT family service project! This past February, my family got into the action. My husband drove, I was the co-pilot giving him directions & checking off our list, and our two children (6 & 3) were the most excited & eager volunteers I had seen!! They got super excited to see the filled bags out on the doorsteps because that meant they could run up to the house and help carry the bags down.
We started our morning at about 9am. After making all our stops (we had about a dozen – but the final number will depend on the number of drivers for each pick-up day), we delivered the food to the Food for Thought team stationed at Jason Taylor Moving & Storage. They currently donate warehouse space for Food for Thought to receive & organize food prior to dispersing it to the local food pantries. By noon the four of us were eating lunch and talking about our first morning as volunteers!
In just three hours, we were able to help our community and a great organization, but more so – we were able to give back AND get the kids involved too! It really was an awesome way for our family to spend the morning! I was humbled that we could join in!!
We aren’t able to help with the April 14th pickup, but I know for a fact we’ll be driving again for a future pickup. Will you join us?
How to Join in the Project?
1. Donate Food – Ask for a bright orange bag. It’s estimated that for every 300 people who participate, Food for Thought will collect one ton of additional food a month.
2. Invite Your Neighbors – Ask neighbors if they would like to join this program and get a bright orange bag. Maybe even head up the efforts in your neighborhood!
3. Help Transport Food – Once every 2 months, on the second Saturday, help pick up the bright orange bags. This would be a great family activity — Mom or Dad drives & the kids run get the food!
It is reserved for families that donate food first, so make sure you sign up for that first! And then take that next step to drive!
Connect with Food for Thought:
Phone: 770.744.3571
