Candice is a Pocket Your Dollars reader that is making a difference. I’m excited to share her story with you.
In June 2009 Candice came across Pocket Your Dollars. She had been into coupons for many years, usually saving between $150-200 per month. With the things she learned from Pocket Your Dollars and the shopping lists she found here, she saved just over $600 in June alone. That is triple her regular monthly savings!
What motivates Candice to save so much? Yes, she’s a stay-at-home mom and her family is committed to getting out of debt, so managing their expenses is important. But, she knows that there are tens of thousands living around her in poverty and seeking help from local food shelves. To that end, she has committed to give 5 items to her local food shelf every single week this year.
She will have contributed 260 items to those in need this year alone by using the food shelf drop box at her local Rainbow store. Candice challenges you to donate at least 1 item per week. Most grocery stores have drop boxes within them, which makes doing this simple.
Just last week Candice dropped a laundry basket full of non-perishable food items at a local food shelf. She recounts her experience saying, “The food shelf was very thankful, as this is a very difficult time of year for them. It is hard to keep up with demand as kids are home for summer vacation and not receiving school lunch.”
She’ll bring another basket full of food in August or September after she teaches another informal couponing class to friends and family. The entrance fee? You guessed it – non-perishable food items. The class? You guessed that too – an introduction to Pocket Your Dollars and many of the principles we teach here. Oh, and the beautiful kids in the picture? Yep, you’re right there too – Candice’s kids, Matthew 3 1/2 and Annika 1, enjoying some Cheerios Candice picked up free on a recent shopping trip.
Your turn: Are you willing to take Candice’s challenge to donate 1 non-perishable food item every single week this year? Are you willing to donate more than 1 item per week? As for me, I’m in and I started by donating an entire grocery bag full of toiletries. When you make your decision, then leave a comment and let us all know.
If you need help thinking about what to donate, here’s a starting list of in-demand items:
Baby soap and shampoo
Bath soap
Beef and poultry - canned
Cake, cookie and muffin mixes
Cereals – hot and cold
Chili and stews – canned
Crackers
Deodorant
Diaper ointment, powder, baby oil
Diapers and wipes
Dish soap
Dried beans
Fabric softener
Feminine sanitary supplies
Fruit and vegetables – canned
Granola bars
Hand lotion and moisturizer
Infant cereal
Juices – canned or boxed
Kleenex
Laundry soap
Main dishes - canned or boxed
Mashed Potatoes – instant
Milk – powdered or canned
Pancake, biscuit mixes
Pasta noodles
Pudding and Jell-O mixes
Rice
Shampoo and Conditioner
Soups – canned
Spaghetti sauces
Syrup
Toilet paper
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Tuna fish
I know and love Candice! She has inspired me to donate weekly (or at least bi-monthly) as well, and I’m a fellow coupon saver who attended her class and is now saving more!
Thank you Carrie, for all your hard work! Thanks to Candice, too, for your passion for helping people save, and, in turn, helping fill pantries across the Twin Cities!
They love to have the travel size items too. So if you stay in a hotel, save the soaps and such and bring those too.
I’m in! Maybe I’m blind, but I didn’t realize that grocery stores have food shelf donation locations. They take hygiene items and such, too? What about medicines? I always get so much free stuff through CVS, but I don’t know where to donate it.
do you have any drop off locations you’d recommend in the s mpls area?
the only food bank i’m finding online has dropoffs in the burbs or NE mpls.
i’ve been saving up since spring and have 4-5 overflowing grocery bags. mostly toiletries, but also baby care and diapers.
They are in both Cub and Rainbow in Burnsville, I assume most have them :)
Yep, they do take hygiene items. At my Cub there is a large, square cardboard box at one of the exits. At Rainbow, there is a round barrel (looks like a garbage can). It’s much smaller, but also by the exit. I am making it part of my shopping routine to drop my items off as I walk in each week. Anytime I can make something part of a routine, I’m much more likely to keep doing it.
I love this! What a great idea, and an inspiration for all of us!
If I see that I can use a coupon to get something for free, I grab it whether or not I can use it. As I bag my groceries, I then bag those items that my family won’t use & drop them directly in the foodbank box. Once a month, I go through my pantry and grab out anything that stands out as something that we won’t need….like 5 of the 9 BBQ sauces I somehow accummulated. I always end up with at least one grocery bag full to donate.
Great idea. I’m going to be more intentional about doing this too.
I have been donating to a womens shelter in Blaine. They also have a food shelf for the women that they serve.
Starting in August, some of the food shelves will also be helping families with school supplies.
As you start picking up supplies at low cost for your own family, buy a few extras to help a child in need be prepared for the first day of school.