Giving Back: Summer Food Drives for RMHC

Summer isn’t usually a time when people think about donating food or holding a food drive – but, this is actually the time when the Ronald McDonald House needs help the most! We have a pantry available to all 80 families who stay with us each night and it is typically full of staples to make easy meals, lunch snacks, and easy breakfast options. Summer at the House is a busy time for us, as many families bring additional family members, patient siblings, or have summer visitors at the House. With more people in the House, that means our pantry gets low quickly! Since we also tend to have less dinner group volunteers in the summer, our residents also turn to the pantry more often to find what they need to make a meal. Typically by mid-August our shelves are getting bare.

However, we have many wonderful donors in the Seattle metro area who are helping us keep the pantry full this summer. One of which is Schur Orthodontics, which held a food drive right in the office. Orthodontic patients dropped off donations and it was a huge success! Their donations towards our pantry immediately helped us restock the shelves for items we were completely out of, like granola bars! We thank Schur Orthodontics for their help and encourage you to visit their blog to read more about the project.

Dr. Schur offers some helpful tips for building community support for your food drive. Schur says one of the best parts of the drive was watching the donations stack up with each passing day. “Our patients enjoyed seeing the collection pile continuously grow, and enthusiasm built throughout the donation period,” he says. One of his top tips to businesses doing a similar food drive is to keep marketing throughout the drive by posting photos of the donation pile’s progress.

If you’re planning a food drive for us this summer (and we hope you do!), the Ronald McDonald House is here to help. We’ve made flyers you can print to help spread the word. Throwing a summer neighborhood block party? We’ve made a poster you can print at home which details how to help. If you’re looking for another food drive to participate in this summer, consider coming out to Medina Days on August 13th from 10AM to 1PM in Medina Park. Stop by our booth to chat and bring some canned or dry goods with you to donate! We will be collecting food at the booth beginning at 10AM and are in need of items such as: fruit cups, boxed macaroni & cheese, fruit snacks, jello/pudding cups, snack packs of crackers/cookies/chips/pretzels/etc, paper towels, travel-size shampoo, and applesauce cups. Please ensure that all items are under 16 oz (size of a regular can) and have an expiration date of 2 months out. Donations can be dropped off at our House located at 5130 40th Ave NE (hours 9AM to 9PM everyday). We encourage you to take a photo on our Ronald bench and tag us on Facebook! Questions about food drives or drop offs can be directed to .

Many thanks to everyone who is helping keep our pantry full for the more than 400 families we house a year here at the House- we appreciate it!