Community Organizers

Before Halloween

Contact the officials in charge of your local food pantry to enlist their support. They will need to tally the amount of food donations for you in order to help publicize the effort in future years. They may want to participate on Halloween night or may be able to suggest publicity avenues to explore.
Be creative! Use your imagination and good ole American know-how to plan a theme for Halloween night and create decorations as inexpensively as possible. By allowing a few months to plan and create each year, you will be amazed at how many free items you can find: cast-offs, odds & ends, spare parts, withered plants, dried daylily stems, old sheets - and the list goes on.
Spread the word about your event. Distribute and post flyers explaining the event, coordinate with other organizers and host locations, and/or contact local media outlets to enlist their support. Enlisting the support of local media to publicize the event beforehand will be the most effective way to push for a good turnout of trick-or-treaters each year.
Ask friends and neighbors for help with decorating and publicity. It will give you a chance to talk about the event and reinforce the message of fighting hunger.
Remember, by doing this as an organizer, you are driving the popularity of the event.

On Halloween

You may oversee donations, hand out candy, distribute maps of participating locations, and/or help keep trick-or-treaters safe in the streets.
Have fun!

After Halloween

Help participants transport donations to your local food pantry.
Contact food pantry officials to get an idea of how much food was donated (weight, number of items, etc.). Use this information to set a goal for next year.

How To Get Involved!