Donation requests
 

Can anyone offer any ideas of where to go for product donations for non profit events? We will be hosting an event next month for a non profit company that my wife and I volunteer with (familylife). We would like to serve pulled pork, but not sure the best way to find donations. I contacted Farmland, but they support bigger things like relay for life and stuff like that. Any tips?

I have never done a non-profit cook, but see if you can network with a few local butcher shops. Maybe you can work a deal to get a little from each instead of all of it from one source.
Be sure to let them know what you will do for them. Free signage at the event or on a website. Something like that.
Meat isn't cheap

When I did more of these, we went out and contacted grocery stores, club stores, Sysco, and just about anyone else we could hit up. The key, we found, was to have a list of things that you will need, how many, and a multitude of entry points for donations. If a store balked at giving $250 of pork butts, maybe they could provide $100 of charcoal, or $50 of paper plates, or $25 of napkins etc... But, a clear and easy list, clear and definable goals, and a good explanation of who and why they want to support you.

Have you checked with Hy-Vee? How much pork are you looking to cook? Try a local community bank.

Thats the thing.....I'm not sure yet how much. I'm in the planning stages, and it just depends on how many guys register to attend. We do have a Hy-Vee in Grand Island, but we are 30 miles from there. Not that the miles matter, but would they support something that isn't in their community? Worth a try though.

Do you have a local grocery store? Check with the Chamber of Commerce, VFW, Legion, or any public service organization that has a similar mission as the non-profit.

Get a good cover letter, an 'event at a glance' sheet and a delineated list of what you need. Then get the zipcode of where your event is going to take place, google that zip w/ the words 'wholesale meat'. Hit up everyone that is remotely close.

Good luck!

Eric