Ready to Start Your food drive?
Organizing a food drive helps keep the shelves at our five (5) no-cost Food Markets stocked throughout the year. It’s also a great way to raise awareness about food insecurity within our community, all while providing an incredible service for your neighbors. Hopelink is here to support your drive! We have collection sleeves and crates, flyer templates, posters, and social media banners to help spread the word and inspire people to contribute to your drive.
If you have questions on how to get started, check out the tools listed below for helpful tips and resources or email drives@hopelink.org.
Hopelink is here to support your drive!
Resources
You’re welcome to use any of your own boxes or bags to collect food, but we also have collection bins we can lend out. Email drives@hopelink.org to learn more.
Spread the word:
Download our media kit for digital assets including logos, banners, and a flyer.
Ready to drop off your donation?
Donations can be dropped off at any Hopelink Food Market. Please contact us at drives@hopelink.org or (425)-869-2440 for up-to-date donation drop off hours. We find it helpful if you can let us know when you plan to stop by so we can give our Food Market staff and volunteers a heads up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hopelink’s Food Assistance program operates our five (5) Hopelink Food Markets with locations in Bellevue, Redmond, Shoreline, Kirkland, and Carnation, as well as our Mobile Market. At no costs, clients can shop at Hopelink Food Markets as they would in typical grocery stores by choosing the items that best fit their household needs. Donations collected from food drives help Hopelink keep the shelves stocked with a variety of free, nutritious, and culturally relevant foods.
Please click here to see a full list of our most needed items. Hopelink can’t accept expired, opened, or damaged food; meat that isn’t USDA grade; clothes, shoes, or accessories; home goods or appliances; medicines; or alcohol.
Most-needed food items
Allergy/specific foods
Gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, Halal, Kosher
Beans and lentils
Black, pinto, garbanzo. Dry in pouch or canned
Ready to eat meat
Tuna, chicken, spam etc. Pouches preferred / canned okay
Grains
Pasta, rice, quinoa, couscous, barley, etc.
Non-dairy milk (shelf stable)
Oat, almond, soy
Grains
Pasta, rice, quinoa, couscous, barley, etc.
Spice/chilis
Salt, pepper, any assortment of dried spices, herbs, and chilis
Sugar
White, brown (bulk ok)
Flour
All-purpose white & wheat flour, buckwheat, millet, masa
Nut butter
Peanut butter, almond butter, etc.
Seafood
Mackerel, sardines, mussels, squid, smoked oysters, tuna (tinned or in pouches)
Cereals
Oats, breakfast cereals, cream of wheat, etc.
Fruit and Vegetables
Variety of canned or dried fruit and vegetables such as shredded coconut, guava paste, raisins, sauerkraut, pickled vegetables.
Cooking oils
Canola oil, olive oil, cooking spray, etc.
Soup and broths
Ready to eat soups. Chicken, beef, or vegetable broth. Boullion
Sauces
Mole, Marinara, Fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, curry, etc.
Most-needed non-food items
Baby food and formula
For baby food, squeeze pouches are best!
Diapers
Sizes 4-6
Toilet paper and paper towels
Feminine hygiene products
Dental hygiene products
Toothbrushes (individual not multipacks), toothpaste, floss
Incontinence products
Yes, collected funds (cash or checks) can be dropped off at the Hopelink Center nearest to you. You can also set up a team fundraising page to make it easy for drive participants to donate to your drive online.
We find it helpful if you’re able to schedule your drop-off with Debbie so that she can give the appropriate Hopelink Food Market staff a heads up. Debbie can be reached at drives@hopelink.org or (425)-869-2440.
Yes and yes! When you make a donation online, you will automatically receive a receipt via email. When you drop off at a physical donation, please ask a volunteer or staff member to provide you with a receipt. We can only offer receipts for the donations that are given directly to Hopelink.
If your group pools together money to purchase gifts for a drive, we are unable to offer individual tax receipts.
Hopelink is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and your donation is tax deductible. To claim a donation as a deduction on your federal income taxes, please keep your receipt as your official record. Our Tax ID number is 91-0982116.
You will receive a receipt upon dropping off your in-kind donations, which will include the total weight in pounds of food. If you didn’t receive a receipt or are inquiring about cash donations, please contact drives@hopelink.org or (425)-869-2440.