Donating The Smart Way

Karen Sullivan is one of our generous donors and agreed to share the story of her savvy food donation strategy.  At a time when our clients can use everything we can supply, this really helps.

Here's my donation strategy for the FreestoreFoodbank:  On a semi-annual basis, I take all of the manufacturers' coupons that I have accumulated from the Sunday papers over a half year and plan a big shopping trip to the supermarket.   By the way, there seems to be an abundance of promotions around the Fourth of July and at Thanksgiving, which is a time when the FreestoreFoodbank is sending out more supplies than usual.  

Using all my coupons, I fill my car with food.  By taking advantage of offers from the manufacturers, my dollar goes further and I am able to drop off food directly at the Freestore downtown.

The ability to purchase donation cards at the supermarket checkout is another great way to donate, but I prefer to see what my dollars are purchasing, and I enjoy shopping.  It is also very satisfying to see the initial purchase total drop from over a hundred dollars to $70.00 or so, due to store promotions, double manufacturer’s coupons and customer rewards.  As an added bonus, I charge the groceries on a credit card which offers rewards, so it is a “win-win” for everyone.