Like many, you may wonder if there is anything you can do to help the poor and hungry people in your city. Luckily, starting a food service program can be a way for you and your neighborhood to offer some assistance. But where will the food come from? Here are three ways to get the food you need for your program.

Contact Local Bakeries, Supermarkets and Restaurants

The very first thing you can do to get food for the less fortunate in your city is to reach out to businesses that serve and sell food every day. Each year in this country, about 133 billion pounds of consumable food is thrown away; if you can reach some of these companies before they dispose of extra food, they may prove to be a great source of consumable products.

Collect Food Through a Holiday Food Drive

Businesses aren't the only entities that throw away food. Just as you might have thrown out food that you just didn't eat, many families in the area are not using all the food in their homes. You can encourage them to provide that extra food to the less fortunate by hosting holiday food drives throughout the year. To make it easier for people to participate, you may opt to provide each house with an empty bag and arrange for items to be picked up.

Grow Food in the Neighborhood

If you can get enough people interested, a neighborhood garden that is tended by volunteers can be another way to guarantee that food is available for anyone who needs it in your city. To have an effective garden you'll need to first appeal to the city permits office or other city employees to determine where the site of the garden will be. Skipping this step may lead to fines and other problems.

Once you have an adequate site, you'll need to contact local home improvement stores to see if they will provide seeds and supplies to get the garden growing. Of course, take steps to secure the garden from pests and critters with fencing and other measures. You might enlist the help of local schools so that kids can spend some volunteer hours there learning to tend the garden and help with any activities.

When you put all of these ideas into motion, you can expect an ample food service program that can help those who need food. Talk with representatives from different food services in the area to get more ideas about what you may be able to do to help even more. To learn more, speak with a business like New Horizon Foods.

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