Posted by Lainey Beth (163.246.89.159) on December 28, 2004 at 10:24:20:
I thought I would share with you one of the best ways I get food donations, because I think alot of you could benefit from this!
My local Starbucks coffee shop (I live in metro atlanta, so there are a million), donates their "day old" pastries to me once a month. This month I got enough to feed about 75 people, and that was just from one day's worth of day old pastries. Another Starbucks I know donates theirs to the Jewish Towers down the street from them. (I don't work for Starbucks, so I'm not trying to sell them!!!)
They are a company who really believes in giving back. Their employees are encouraged to volunteer, they each even have a shift supervisor in charge of volunteering/community outreach. Last year, a group came to help me decorate for Christmas. That might be a good new source of volunteers.
Regardless, go talk to them and see if they are just throwing their pastries away--they give me yummy and beautiful things from cranberry orage scones to chocolate cream cheese muffins to huge chocolate chip cookies. I know you have to be careful with diets and such, but it would be a nice treat for staff or if you are in IL like I am, for your residents.
Just thought I would share--Good luck and Happy New Year!
--LB