CEREAL DRIVE INFO
Organize a Cereal4all Drive
to Feed Families in Need
Did you know breakfast food is one of the least donated items at food banks? That means families who depend on food banks for hunger relief often receive no breakfast for their homes.
You can help fill empty bowls in your community!
Community Service Hours for Student Organizers
Gift Card for Schools, Clubs & Teams
Become a Student Ambassador
Cereal Party for K-5 classrooms
Receive online recognition of your drive
WHAT’S A CEREAL4ALL DRIVE?
- It’s a food drive focused only on low-sugar cereal, like Cheerios or Instant Oatmeal
- People donate unopened boxes of cereal at their school, youth group, or business
- When the drive is complete, all the cereal is donated to a local food bank
HOW DO I FIND A FOOD BANK FOR MY CEREAL DRIVE TO BENEFIT?
On a computer:
- Go to maps.google.com
- Enter your school or organization’s address
- Click “Nearby” and search “food bank”
- Click through results to find one with a website and volunteer opportunities
On your phone: simply search “food bank near me” in Google Maps or Apple Maps.
*IMPORTANT: We ask that your cereal drive benefits a Feeding America Affiliated Food Bank
Feeding America is America’s largest hunger-relief network. Make sure the food bank displays the Feeding America logo on their homepage. You can also search directly at feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank to find verified food banks in your area.
However, if you have another local food bank in mind, please reach out to us at FightHunger@cereal4all.org
WHY CEREAL?
WHY CEREAL?
- Cereal is non-perishable, easy to prepare, and can provide essential vitamins & minerals lacking in many at-risk households
- Since most students love cereal, a cereal drive helps them think about the happiness and hunger needs of others in a more personal way
WHO DOES A CEREALALL DRIVE HELP?
- Over 45 million Americans, including 14 million children, who depend on food banks for hunger relief
- We encourage you to research hunger statistics for your own city or county. You may be surprised by how many people in your community suffer from serious hunger issues.
HOW DOES THE GIFT CARD WORK FOR SCHOOLS & CLUBS?
- Schools, clubs, or groups that hold drives in 2026-2027 get a gift card from one of our partners
- Currently, it’s a Target or Amazon Gift Card to use for whatever supplies your school or org needs most
- Only drives that collect 100 or more regular-sized boxes of cereal (9oz or more) receive a gift card
- A drive that collects 100+ boxes receives a $30 gift card. 300+ boxes receives a $50 gift card.
- To be fully eligible:
◦ You must officially sign up through the form at the bottom of this page
◦ Your flyers must ask for donations of low-sugar cereal
(If a few sugary cereals sneak though, that’s okay, but let’s encourage healthy donations)
◦ You must take the necessary photos during your drive (see question below)
WHAT PHOTOS SHOULD I TAKE?
- During your drive, we ask that you take fun photos of:
◦ Groups of students holding cereal boxes during the drive
◦ A group shot of your club or organization with your total collection of cereal
◦ If you’re dropping off your collection at a food bank, get photos of that too - We’ll post your photos online to inspire other students across America to follow your example and get involved in the fight against hunger. Here are some examples.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE DRIVE IS OVER?
- You will need to transport your cereal collection to the food bank
WHAT ARE SOME TIPS FOR HOLDING A SUCCESSFUL DRIVE AT MY SCHOOL?
- Work with other students to strategize the best way to organize, run, and promote the drive
- Can you spark your school’s compassion so everyone feels the importance of filling empty bowls?
- Use flyers, posters, & social media to spread the word. How creative can you get?
◦ We can help you create a flyer. Just ask. Click here for some examples - Some schools offer students a perk if they donate boxes of cereal, like a Pajama Day or Sports Jersey Day
- Other schools offer students community service hours for donating cereal. This can make your drive way more successful. A popular formula is: 3 boxes of cereal = 1 service hour, with a max of 5-10 hours.
- It’s always a big help when your school’s administration promotes the cereal drive too
- You can plan other fun activities around the drive, like cereal box dominoes through the school hallways!
HOW LONG SHOULD A CEREAL DRIVE LAST?
- At K-12 schools, a drive takes place over 1 or 2 weeks
- Universities usually do 2 or 3 week
HOW DO I EARN COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS FOR ORGANIZING A DRIVE?
- Since Cereal4all is a 501c3 nonprofit, we can grant Community Service Hours
- If necessary, make sure your school accepts Cereal4all as a service organization. We’re listed on nonprofit verification websites like Candid, and with the IRS too. Our EIN is 88-3360884.
- Community Service Hours are for the time you spend on all aspects of organizing and executing the cereal drive—from the first strategy session to the final food bank donation. Keep track of the time you spend. Write it down with dates and what aspect of the drive you were working on. We have a lot of experience organizing drives, so we know the hard work it takes.
- If a supervising teacher wants to grant service hours instead, that’s okay and takes precedence.
CAN I BECOME A STUDENT AMBASSADOR AT CEREAL4ALL?
- Students or teams of students who organize a successful drive can become Ambassadors at Cereal4all
- Your photo and name will be included on the Our Team page of our website
HOW DOES THE CEREAL PARTY REWARD WORK?
- For K-5 schools that collect more than 100 boxes, Cereal4all will also provide an extra $20 for milk, bowls, and spoons for the top-donating classroom to have a cereal party
- You should hold back 4-5 boxes of cereal from your drive’s collection for the party
WHAT ARE FUN THINGS YOUNGER SCHOOL STUDENTS CAN DO DURING A CEREAL4ALL DRIVE?
- Part of Cereal4all’s mission is to get younger students thinking about helping others through volunteering. Some great activities for them are:
◦ Make posters for the cereal drive to hang up around school
◦ Create uplifting cards for the food bank to include with food distribution to families in need
◦ Have classroom discussions about hunger problems in your community and possible solutions
◦ Take part in collecting the cereal boxes from classrooms. Students can count the boxes on tally charts and bring the cereal to a main location