second harvest food bank
of santa cruz & san benito counties
donate volunteer advocate

Students Helping Students

Compete against other local schools and win big! Santa Cruz Skate Shop have teamed up with Second Harvest to reward your outstanding effort through Grind Out Hunger. The elementary, junior high and high school with the most pounds of food per student collected will receive a total of $1,200 worth of merchandise from Santa Cruz Skate Shop. The winning elementary school will receive a $300 gift certificate as well as the winning junior high.  The winning high school will recieve a $600 gift certificate!  The real winners are students in our community that won't go hungry.  See a video about Grind Out Hunger!

How to Run a Holiday School Food Drive

  • Select food drive dates
    First, you should decide on dates for your food drive.

  • Contact Second Harvest
    Download and complete our School Participation Food Drive form. Contact Andy at (831) 722-7110 ext. 213 or andy@thefoodbank.org with questions.

  • Set a goal
    Each $1 counts as 3 pounds of food. A great tip for a successful food drive is setting a goal.

  • Get creative!
    Compete against classrooms, add competition to your homecoming, challenge your teachers, plan an event, collect food or cash from your neighbors and friends.

  • 2007 Holiday Food Drive School Winners
    • Empire Academy - 4,609 pounds/125lbs. per student or cash equivalent
    • Salesian Elemtary and Junior High - 2,785 pounds/14lbs. per student or cash equivalent
    • Good Shepherd School - 1,324 pounds/7lbs per student or cash equivalent

  • How many barrels?
    Determine how many barrels to order (one barrel holds an average of 125 pounds of food).

  • Schedule Delivery and Pickup
    Once you have planned your drive, you should contact Second Harvest to arrange for delivery of barrels, donation envelopes, bags and other supplies you may need to conduct your drive.