Updated November 3, 2025
An estimated 13 million children live in food insecure homes in the U.S (1). How can we let this happen? Food is a basic need! It’s heartbreaking to think of so many children and their families trying to cope with the many negative impacts of food insecurity.
What is Childhood Hunger and Why It’s Matters
How can children learn, grow, and thrive if their bodies aren’t getting enough food? Food insecurity increases the risk of depression, anxiety, illness, and poor academic performance.
As Anna mentioned in a previous post, food insecurity increases the risk of developing disordered eating behaviors. This certainly makes sense. When your body doesn’t consistently get enough food, it makes physiological and psychological adjustments to help you survive.
Your body sends messages to eat what is available NOW because there might not be enough tomorrow. When this happens, you might feel ashamed.
You might feel that the loss of control is your fault. Actually, it’s not your fault. It’s your body finding a way to get what it needs when food is available.
What You Can Do About Childhood Hunger In Your Community
At our neighborhood elementary school (where my older daughter, Caroline, went and my younger daughter, Ellie, still goes), almost 60% of the children are on free and reduced lunches.
Many children from food-insecure homes receive food through the national school lunch program and other federal programs like the school breakfast program, after-school meals program, and summer meals program.
School-aged children receive meals during the school day, but what about meeting their needs on the weekends? In addition to the federal food assistance programs, there are a number of private programs that help feed children and raise awareness about food insecurity.
A few years ago a small group of parents with children at our school looked into finding a way to bridge this gap. After looking into a number of private programs and talking with the school social worker and parent liaison, we decided to implement the Blessings in a Backpack program to the school.
The program currently feeds 100 children. The bags are sent home with children each Friday.
How to Host a Bake Sale and Food Drive in Your Community
☐ Identify the organization(s) you’ll support.
☐ Ask what items or funds are most needed.
☐ Confirm how and when donations should be delivered.
Step 2: Plan the Event
☐ Choose a date and secure your location.
Tip: Farmers markets, community centers, and schools often allow fundraising tables for free or reduced rates.
☐ Confirm any required permissions or permits.
☐ Set fundraising goals (e.g., $500 or 100 food items).
☐ Decide on baked goods and donation items to collect.
☐ Check for food safety or labeling requirements.
Step 3: Recruit Helpers
☐ 2–4 weeks before, send out a SignUpGenius or shared list for volunteers:
☐ Assign someone to take photos and post to social media.
Step 4: Spread the Word
☐ Take photos of baked goods ahead of time for social posts.
☐ Create flyers or social media graphics (Canva templates work great!).
☐ Post announcements to listservs and social media.
☐ Post weekly starting 2–4 weeks before, then daily 3–4 days before the event.
☐ Post during the event with updates and gratitude.
Step 5: Gather Supplies
☐ Packaging supplies, labels, stickers
☐ Folding tables & plastic tablecloths
☐ Banners or signage with organization name and donation info
☐ Cash bank ($60–$100 in small bills)
☐ Credit card reader (Square or Venmo QR code)
☐ Download and test Square app or Venmo)
☐ Charging cable or power bank for your phone
☐ Hand sanitizer, paper towels, tape, pens, scissors, extra bags
☐ Ingredient/allergen labels for baked goods
☐ Donation bins or boxes for food items
☐ Weather plan (canopy, clips, table weights)
Step 6: Bake & Package
☐ Purchase ingredients.
☐ Bake items 1–2 days before. Or well before and freeze them.
☐ After they’re fully cooled. Label with item name, ingredients.
☐ Price and package consistently.
☐ Take final product photos for promotion.
Step 7: Day of the Event
☐ Arrive early to set up tables and signage.
☐ Bring donation boxes, banners, and pricing signs.
☐ Keep track of cash and digital sales.
☐ Share live updates and photos online.
☐ Thank shoppers and donors personally.
Step 8: After the Event
☐ Deposit cash and write a check to the organization.
☐ Deliver donated food items.
☐ Post a thank-you on social media and share how much was raised.
☐ Thank volunteers and donors directly.
☐ Send photos and a note to the organization.
☐ Reflect and make notes for next time.
Free Printable Check List
If you are interested in holding a food drive and bake sale in your neighborhood, click here for downloadable steps to set up your food drive and bake sale.
Tips for Hosting a Bake Sale and Food Drive
My younger daughter, Ellie, and two of her close friends recently expressed an interest in holding a bake sale to raise money and food for Blessings in a Backpack at their elementary school.
They also wanted to have a food drive for the weekend meal program that’s supported by ALIVE! at another local elementary school.
We set to work figuring out how we could get a spot at our neighborhood Saturday Farmer’s Market. They have space for 2 non-profits each week, and we were lucky to get a spot pretty quickly.
Ellie asked friends at school who would be interested in helping. We created a Sign-Up Genius, and I sent it out to their parents.
I didn’t send it out until the week before the event, so I was worried we wouldn’t get enough baked goods or have enough help. We had a table full of baked goods and plenty of kids to sell them!
A few weeks before the date, Ellie and a friend made a banner to hang on the table. The kids also made a list of what we’d need on the day of the sale/food drive to make it all happen.
Check List for the Day of the Bake Sale and Food Drive
- Paper towels
- Scissors
- Tap
- Extra food wrappers
- Table cloth
- Stickers
- Pens
- Bags in case people buy a lot (and some did!)
- Bowls, cake stands, plates to display items
- A large easel or board/sign you can lean against the table (ours read FIGHT CHILDHOOD HUNGER)
- A box to hold money
- A bank of $60 in ones, fives and a few tens
- A credit card charger for your phone
- Your phone
- Copies of handouts about the programs that includes a link to where people can donate online
- Small paper plates (if you want to offer samples)
- A couple of plastic knives to cut things into sample sizes
Downloadable checklist
We put all of the supplies for the event in the buckets we would set out for the food drive donations. Click here for a downloadable link to a list of supplies you’ll need the day of the event.
What We Baked
The day before the event happened to be a teacher work day. So we did a lot of baking! We made Carmelitas, strawberry rhubarb turnovers, Molasses Spice Cookies, Oatmeal Craisin Cookies, M&M Cookies and more.
Things We’ll Do Differently at Our Next Bake Sale and Food Drive
Next time, I think we’ll decide pricing before packaging items so we can price and package everything the same. Items ranged from $1 – $3.
I thought Ellie and I could easily do the set-up on our own. It was a little stressful getting everything set up with just the two of us.
So, next time, I’ll create 4 slots for set up on the signup. Everyone seemed to have a great time working to raise money, food, and awareness about ending childhood hunger.
A couple of people asked us if we had a link to where they could donate. Next time, we’ll print out little slips of paper with the address to hand out in case people would rather donate from home.
It was a gorgeous day, so there were lots of people at the Farmer’s Market: lucky for us! The bake sale and food drive were both very successful! We will definitely do it again in the fall!
References
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We’re Elizabeth & Anna!
It’s great to have you here. We’re registered dietitians and we share tips to support you in raising kids with a healthy relationship with food.
Thank you, Elizabeth!
This was a really impressive effort. As a mom of one of these kids (the boy in blue), I have been hard-pressed to figure out how to empower his volunteer work without taking it over. You did such a great job of offering the structure and tools, while letting the kids plan, bake, and get out front to sell items! And the baking quality was all sooooo good 🙂
Thank you, also, for getting this program going at MVCS. You have made a difference for so many of our friends and neighbors.
Thank you for your note Elizabeth!! I just saw this! Still learning the ropes here.
So glad Tom wanted to help out!