Hunger happens right here in our Cincinnati suburbs and surrounding rural areas, and IPM provides a little food to carry people through. Food donations are needed year 'round, not just at Thanksgiving and Christmas!


If you have a group or organization other than a school that would like to conduct a food drive, please contact Sarah Cadle for information at (513)561-3932 or sarah@interparish.org


WHY FOOD DRIVES ARE IMPORTANT
Click Here to see our "Hunger Fact Sheet" for some facts and figures about hunger. Sharing this information with your students will help them understand why their food drive is so important in helping to eliminate hunger in our community.

An IPM staff member would be willing to visit your school and speak about hunger. This opportunity would allow your students to ask questions and learn about families who are "food insecure"

We served 600 more people in the first five months of 2008 than during the same period last year. 2706 people / 803 families were served by the food pantry from Jan-June 2008 and the need grows every month!

WHAT'S NEEDED?
Critically needed items include: Cereals, canned fruit, peanut butter, jam and jelly, canned meats, boxes desserts, canned pasta meals, spaghetti and sauce, toothpaste and toothbrushes, toilet paper, deodorant, shampoo, diapers.
CLICK HERE
 to see needs lists.

WHEN FOOD DRIVES ARE NEEDED
The months during the school season when we are most in need of donations are September, October, February, and May. However, we appreciate donations throughout the year.

GETTNG STUDENTS INVOLVED
Interested students may visit or volunteer in our Food Pantry with their family, friends or social groups. We ask that arrangements for scheduling these visits be made in advance by called the IPM office.

If an entire school is involved in a food drive, each grade could collect one particular item, e.g.- 1st grade could collect peanut butter, 2nd grade- cereal, 3rd grade- pasta and sauce, etc. If the food drive is within one grade level, each class could collect one particular item. For example, one class could collect canned fruit, another canned meat, etc.

We encourage such targeted food drives because they tend to result in the collection of larger quantities of recently purchased, routinely stocked items rather than a miscellaneous assortment of unusual products which might have been sitting in the family's food pantry for some time.

Schools may have students check all food donations for condition and expiration dates. If food is in bad condition, opened, or expired, it should be discarded.

Students can sort items according to food type into clearly labels boxes. Our Food Pantry volunteers really appreciate those extra touches and we'll reuse the boxes for distributing food to clients.

For an added bonus, students can count and record items collected. Your students get teh feeling of accomplishment and we'll get an idea of how much help to have on hand to process your donation.

WRAPPING UP YOUR IPM FOOD DRIVE
IPM can pick up food drive donations or your school can drop it off at our Newtown location. Please call ahead to schedule a date and time.

Also, we want to say "Thank You!" So please provide us with a contact name and the complete name and address of your school.



We hope you will be a regular partner with IPM in providing hunger relief to our neighbors in Clermont and eastern Hamilton counties.

Please call or email us with the name and contact information for your school or organization so we can keep you updated about IPM news and needs. THANK YOU!