By IFTSA

As announced at the 2013 IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo, this September we are encouraging all sections and student clubs to take part in the IFT Day of Service. Continue reading for more information on what the IFT Day of Service is and how you can get involved!

What:  The IFT Day of Service is an initiative of the IFT Student Association which focuses on the importance of giving back to the greater good by volunteering at food banks. By choosing a day in September, sections and student clubs are challenged to mobilize their members and volunteer for a few hours in their community. After your day of service, send photos and a report back to IFT to brag about how many hours your volunteers gave and how much food your team packaged, prepared, etc. At the 2014 IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo in New Orleans, we will be announcing which sections and clubs gave back the most and will celebrate how much IFT gave back to helping end hunger in America 

Why: Giving back to the greater good is something that many of our members are looking for. By having a social or networking event at a food bank or food depository your members will be able to give back while still having fun! Plus it’s a great way to kick off the year and it’s something different! Also, September is Hunger Action month for Feeding America which lends itself to many opportunities within your community to volunteer towards the goal of ending hunger in America.

When: Any time in the month of September. Work with your local food bank/depository for what date works best for both of you.

Where: Your local food bank or food depository!

How: It’s easy. Read through the volunteer tool kit created by Feeding America. There is a lot of information included as well as a suggested timeline. Please realize that this timeline is very conservative and that planning an event does not take as long as suggested. Next, reach out to your food bank for a few dates where they can accommodate a larger group of volunteers. Once some dates are identified, find out how many of your members can volunteer on each date and choose the one where you can have the most volunteers for. Then publicize the date, time, location, and activity. You’ll want to find out how many volunteers you’ll have so that you can let the location know ahead of time.

On the date of the event don’t forget to take photos! You can also encourage your members to wear similar color shirts or a section/club shirt if you have one. Have your members take photos as well and send them along to IFT at aylijoki@ift.org as well as the metrics from your day of service. This you’ll get from the food bank and could include things like pounds moved, # of volunteers and/or # of volunteer hours.

Remember to have fun!

Photo Credit: http://www.sgvcc.org/humanservices/pantry.html