When most people think of a food drive, they picture a group collecting cans that will be donated to a soup kitchen. A more robust variation on the typical food drive is a wholesale version where you would reach out to vendors and request that they donate on your behalf in honor of your Bat/Bar Mitzvah. Chances for success will depend on the time one invests in sending out multiple requests. Invite your friends to help address envelopes, and adding a handwritten personal touch (Remember: the more personal the letter, the more likely your success). You can mail a hard-copy letter or email the company. See sample letters below. These are examples that are meant to be a guide that can be edited to fit your needs. (Underlined words need to be filled in). The process of writing a letter can be both educational and fun for the young adult. The advantages of doing a wholesale food drive are that you will receive a lot of the same item from the corporate donors who respond to you, which is best for Masbia. The other advantage is that you can run the drive entirely from your own home, you can send direct mail or emails, and even call the companies all from your kitchen table. The downside is that you need to send out to a large number of vendors until you get a response, and success is not guaranteed. We suggest creating a letter writing day where you will invite friends, relatives, and classmates to email, call, and write letters all at once in a fun environment.
One way to go about contacting a company is to make your choice of vendors personal. Think of foods you eat on a regular basis and start the campaign by writing to companies you often buy from. When writing your letters, you can let the vendors know that you are a regular customer which may entice them to donate their goods on your behalf. You can choose to contact both national companies and/or local vendors such as your neighborhood supermarket. Below you will find a link for an Excel file with a list of kosher vendors (You can use it to create a "mail merge" with your personal letter to print multiples of your letter. Some vendor information may be out of date). You can choose from the list or add your own but remember to make sure to let them know you are only looking for Kosher food. We suggest you to use personal connections first when selecting a vendor.
You can choose to have the vendor deliver all the donated product to your place and you can then deliver it to Masbia, or have them deliver it directly to Masbia. For an exact address and to arrange for delivery times please contact us at [email protected] This information is not necessary to include in your vendor letter, arrangements can be made once a vendor expresses interest in donating.
Resources:
Wholesale Food Drive Email Example
Wholesale Food Drive Letter Example
Companies that donated food to Masbia: A&B Famous, Aaron's, Abeles & Heymann, Dagim, Empire Kosher, Gefen, Gourmet Glatt, Grow & Behold, Natural and Kosher, Norman's Dairy, Pomegranate, Sabra, Satmar Butcher, Shor Habor, Strauss Bakery, The Chef's Garden