Ways to Donate

Food for People relies on contributions from individuals, organizations, and local businesses to sustain our hunger relief programs throughout the county. Your tax-deductible contribution helps provide much-needed nutritious food to more than 21,000 people struggling to make ends meet in Humboldt County.

When you become a Full Plate Partner, you join a special group of people helping us each month provide food assistance to those in need in our community. Together, we can ensure everyone in Humboldt County has access to good quality, nutritious food, creating a healthy community for us all.

Food donations can be dropped off in the bin in the alley behind our building in Eureka at 307 W. 14th St from 9 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday or contact our Local Food Resources Coordinator Allison Kenney at (707) 445-3166 ext. 312 to make other arrangements.

Or learn about our Food Drives program here

To donate to Backpacks for Kids click here and type "Backpacks" in the Gift Notes box.

60% of Humboldt County children are eligible to receive free or reduced-cost meals at school. For many working and struggling families, these meals are a blessing and help keep children fed in difficult times. However, school meals are not available on weekends, and many children go home to empty cupboards. Being at risk for hunger over the weekend makes it difficult to complete homework and come to school on Monday on time, healthy and ready to learn.

Our Backpacks for Kids program helps close the gap for many local schoolchildren, to reduce the stress of weekend hunger and to help children develop into their healthiest and most successful selves. Children who come to school well fed on Monday morning behave and perform better in their classrooms, which helps them and their peers succeed in school.

The Backpacks for Kids program is managed by our Child Nutrition Programs Coordinator, who can be reached at (707) 445-3166 ext. 309 or ChildNutrition@foodforpeople.org.

We partner with CARS to help facilitate vehicle donations. Call (855) 500-7433 or fill out the online form here

What is a Donor Advised Fund?

A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is essentially a charitable savings account that allows you to manage your philanthropy with greater ease. Here’s how it works:

• Make an Irrevocable Gift: You contribute to the DAF, receiving an immediate tax deduction.

• Recommend Grants: Over time, you can recommend how and when the funds are distributed to your chosen charities such as Food for People. 

• Tax Efficiency: Donations to a DAF may be invested to potentially grow tax-free, resulting in more funds available for charitable purposes.

Benefits of Using a Donor Advised Fund

• Flexibility: Recommend how much and how often grants are made. You can make an immediate impact or plan for future giving.

• Convenience: Simplifies charitable giving by consolidating your donations into one account.

• Family Involvement: Allows you to involve family members or colleagues in your philanthropic decisions.

How to Use Your DAF to Support Nonprofits

If you have a Donor Advised Fund, you can easily support organizations like the Food for People by recommending grants through the DAF. When making a grant recommendation:

1. Direct Recommendation: Use the provided forms or online tools to recommend a grant from your DAF.

2. Identify Yourself: Ensure your financial advisor identifies you as the donor when processing the gift to maximize the impact.

Making a Difference

By utilizing a Donor Advised Fund, you can streamline your charitable giving, make strategic decisions about your contributions, and ensure your legacy supports causes you care about. For more information on how to recommend a grant or set up a DAF, contact your financial advisor or Development Director David Reed at dreed@foodforpeople.org

There are many different ways you can leave a legacy through a planned gift:

Bequests/Wills - Make a simple bequest through a will designating Food for People to receive: a specified dollar amount, specific assets, a percentage of your assets, a portion of what remains after all other bequests have been paid, as well as many other options.

Real Estate, & Tangible Personal Property - Make a gift of real estate and provide the food bank with valuable assets to help plan for the future, which makes you eligible for a tax deduction.

Retained Life Estate - Receive a large tax deduction by donating a residence while retaining the right to live there for life!

Publicly Traded Securities/Stocks - Make a planned gift of publicly traded securities or stocks you already hold.

Retirement Plan & IRA Beneficiary Designations - Designate Food for People as a beneficiary and make a charitable gift of your retirement plan, without having your gift taxed!

Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations - No longer need your life insurance plan? Use the funds you have already invested to ensure the stability of future food bank services.

Charitable Trusts - Place cash or assets in a trust that provides scheduled payments to the food bank or will eventually pass on to Food for People.

Your gift can have a powerful impact in our mission to eliminate hunger in Humboldt County.

If you already have a will or living trust, you can easily amend that document to add a charity as a beneficiary. The following is suggested language for a will or an amendment to an existing will:

“I hereby give to Food for People, Inc. the Food Bank for Humboldt County, located at 307 W. 14th St., Eureka, CA 95501 [cash amount, percentage of net estate, or description of property] to be used for its general purposes.”

To make a planned gift to Food for People we suggest contacting your attorney or financial advisor.

For more information or to let us know how you have made Food for People a part of your estate plan, contact David Reed at dreed@foodforpeople.org or call (707) 445-3166 extension 306.

All donations are tax-deductible in accordance with IRS regulations. Our EIN # is: 94-2772549.