It’s a remarkably simple system, built around two main types of volunteers:
- Neighborhood Coordinators (NCs) agree to organize a small group of their friends and neighbors to become Food Donors. Their job generally takes a few hours a month.
- Food Donors are friends and neighbors who agree to give food every two months.
Neighborhood Coordinators (NCs)
- An NC’s donor group can be any number of people.
- NCs decide what constitutes their “neighborhood.” It can be in their neighborhood, a book club, quilt group, work site or church.
When a Neighbor Joins
- The NC issues a reusable green Mother Lode Food Project bag to a donor and suggests they buy one extra nonperishable grocery item each week. The food can be stored in the bag until pickup day.
- Then every two months, donors leave their bags on their porches (in “activated” neighborhoods) or drop-off their bags at a specified site, which is picked up by NCs and brought to the ATCAA Food Bank in Jamestown.
When is Pick-up/Drop-Off Day?
- Our official pick-up/drop-off day, bear with us, is the Monday of the 2nd Thursday, of each even month. Donations can then be delivered by NCs to ATCAA the immediately following Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8am-3pm. The Food Project is set up to give NCs as much flexibility as possible.
What happens on Drop-Off Day?
- Each Food Donor drops off their bag at an official drop-off site, and can pick up a replacement bag and tax credit receipt. An NC may also pick up bags when the book club or other social club meets.
- After all the food is delivered to ATCAA, it is sorted and weighed. All totals are sent out to food donors so they can see the impact of their efforts.