Kids Can!
Share Your Bounty and Help Your Local Food Pantry Keep its Shelves Stocked Year Round. A Hunger Relief Program for Kids Eager to Make a Difference!

•  You can make a difference in your community by…..
•  “Adopting/Helping” your local food pantry. Often, food pantries do not have enough food on their shelves to feed all the families that come in for help. You and your classmates can make a difference by organizing a Kids Can! food drive and ensuring your local pantry’s cupboard stays stocked!
•  Each month one grade collects, boxes and arranges for delivery of non-perishable food items and personal care items as well (things like toothpaste, shampoo, soaps)
•  You and a team of volunteers make up and distribute flyers and organize to have marked drop-off boxes for each classroom/homeroom for kids to drop their donated items in.
•  Organize and use the resources of your school to get the message out…emails, backpack mail and notes home are the way to go!

Think about it… your efforts will make food available for the hungry in your very own community. Imagine trying to find a job on an empty stomach or showing up at a physically demanding job without any food in your belly…or going to school hungry!

You really can make a difference…… and by joining Kids Can!, you can help us make this a nationwide program – there are thousands of kids just like you all across America who could participate in this project…we just need to get the word out!

Naturally, you have to work this out with your principal or teacher....and Kids Can! requires that an adult supervise the program. Print this out, go discuss it with your teacher or principal and hopefully you will then join our team. You can help make a difference in the lives of many, so let us know when permission is given (kids@family-to-family.org). In that email make sure you send us your name, your school’s name, your contact email and your zip code, so we can help you identify a food pantry in your area that needs your help. Then:

•  Find a classmate or several to help you get things going.
•  Find a parent or teacher who would like to supervise the program and help with delivery
•  Make some simple, colorful flyers to distribute in your school and create some large cardboard drop-off boxes for your classmates to drop off their donated items
•  Speak with your teacher or principal about a schedule which grade does what month (ex.3rd grade January, 4th grade February and so on).
•  Also, do ask your principal to email blast Kids Can! info out each month to that month’s families
•  And don’t forget to plan for the holidays and summer vacation --- your food pantry will still be distributing food even though school is out (for instance, in May and June have two grade levels bring in food to cover the summer).
•  Talk with your team about ways to keep the enthusiasm up!! Be creative!! Talk to your adult supervisor too!
Remember….you can make a difference….Big Time!