Hosting a Donation Drive

Hosting a donation drive is a simple, easy way to make a meaningful impact on the U-M community. We can work with your team to help select dates and a drop-off time that works for you. We ask that your group reach out to all members using the provided marketing materials to help maximize the impact of your donation drive. Together, we can make great strides towards a more equitable campus and build bonds within our community!

  • Pick a time and type of donation drive
  • Spread the word
  • Collect items
  • Schedule a time to drop off your donation

Why is your donation important?

Studies have shown that one in three college students experiences food insecurity. At the Maize and Blue Cupboard, we are trying to address food insecurity by helping provide students (and faculty and staff) with access to healthy, nutritious food, and the means to cook it. What originally started as a student organization on campus with pop-up food distributions has now turned into a fully functional food pantry, open six days a week. The permanent Maize and Blue Cupboard, established in April 2019, exists to provide an immediate and comprehensive response for the U-M community. We provide students with resources, educational opportunities, leadership development and compassionate support.

While food is essential to our operations, we can purchase a greater amount of food through our established partnerships than we would receive through direct donations. Please consider helping in other ways by choosing to host a cookware drive, a personal care item drive, or a spice drive. We also accept monetary donations. If your team would like to volunteer at Maize and Blue Cupboard, please contact us to set up a time!

Personal Care Items

Food can be expensive, and so can personal and household items. Please consider donating new, unopened:

  • Hand soap
  • Dish soap
  • Sponges
  • Laundry soap
  • Dishwasher detergent
  • Toilet paper
  • Paper towel
  • Facial tissues
  • Garbage bags
  • Lysol wipes
  • Toothbrushes
  • Toothpaste
  • Floss
  • Shampoo
  • Conditioner
  • Body wash
  • Lotion
  • Deodorant
  • Feminine products
  • Condoms
  • Baby items
  • School/office supplies

Spices

Donate unopened, dry, ground herbs and spices whenever possible. By donating spices, you help enable students to flavor their food in a healthy and tasty way.

  • Cinnamon
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Ground ginger
  • Garlic powder
  • Black pepper
  • Paprika
  • Onion powder
  • Dried basil
  • Dried oregano
  • Nutmeg
  • Cumin
  • Cayenne
  • Dried thyme
  • Dried parsley
  • Dried rosemary
  • Adobo
  • Jerk
  • Salt
  • Old Bay Seasoning
  • Sugar

Cookware Donations

We love providing students with food, but it can be rendered useless if they do not have the proper equipment to prepare and eat it. We accept new and gently used cookware, such as:

  • Pots
  • Pans
  • Can openers
  • Spatulas
  • Tupperware
  • Cutting boards
  • Knives
  • Plates
  • Bowls
  • Silverware
  • Mugs
  • Measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Graters
  • Vegetable peelers
  • Strainers

Giving your time

The Maize and Blue Cupboard utilizes volunteers on a regular basis. If your group is interested in volunteering at the Cupboard, please contact us at maize.blue.cupboard@umich.edu for further information.

Monetary Donations

Please consider making a monetary donation to the Maize and Blue Cupboard. Your donated dollar can go ten times further than donation of food items. Donations also help build a healthier community by allowing us to purchase more produce. We do not accept monetary donations on site; they must be made online. To donate online, visit the donate page. Upon checking out, include a comment containing your group or organization’s name. Please reach out to MBC staff if you would like to have your collective donations tracked.

Cookware Kits

If your team is interested in making a direct impact on students, consider a monetary donation to be put towards premade cookware kits. The kits contain a pot, pan, spatula, wooden spoon, towel, soap, and sponge, and they will be given to U-M students navigating food insecurity to help them cook their food. A $50 donation helps provide one student with a new cookware kit. Upon checking out, include a comment containing “Cookware kit” and your group or organization’s name. Please reach out to MBC staff if you would like to have your collective donations tracked.

Running Your Donation Drive

We want you to feel like you have full support from the MBC staff with your donation drive. Do not hesitate to reach out to us with questions! Our email is maize.blue.cupboard@umich.edu. If you are doing a monetary donation drive or cookware kit drive, encourage your team to include a comment containing your group’s name upon checking out online. Following your drive, you can reach out to us if you would like to recognize individual contributors. Below, we have provided pre-made flyer materials and emails to help with your drive.

Flyer Materials

If you choose to do a kitchen cookware drive, please use these flyers:

email flyer / color flyer / black and white flyer

If you choose to do a personal care item drive, please use these flyers:

email flyer / color flyer / black and white flyer

If you choose to do a spice drive, please use these flyers:

email flyer / color flyer / black and white flyer

If you choose to do a monetary drive, please use these flyers:

email flyer / color flyer / black and white flyer

If you choose to do a cookware kit drive, please use these flyers:

email flyer / color flyer / black and white flyer

If you would like to include information and spread awareness about food insecurity on campus, please use these flyers:

flyer 1 / flyer 2

For printed flyers, be sure to write in the date of the donation drive and location for dropping off items before posting them!

Email Templates

This Email template can be copied and pasted for your convenience. Be sure to tweak them to include the relevant information for your donation drive. It also includes helpful tips on when to run your donation drive throughout the week, and how many emails to send.

Drop-Off Instructions

Thank you so much for organizing a drive with the Maize and Blue Cupboard! We want to make the process as easy on your group as possible, however, we do not have the infrastructure in place to commit to picking up items from all donation drives. If you think dropping off your donation may be a problem, let us know and we can work to make necessary accommodations.

The Maize and Blue Cupboard is located at:

420 S State St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Please note: the MBC can only be accessed via the entrance on Maynard St. Do not enter the Betsy Barbour residence doors, there are doors to the MBC on the ground level set back from the street by a driveway.

You may only drop off your items when there are staff members at the Cupboard to receive them. Please let us know when you plan to drop off your donation by emailing maize.blue.cupboard@umich.edu. Thank you!

The MBC operating hours are:

Monday-Friday: 3-7pm
Sunday: 2-8pm

If one of these times does not work for dropping off your donation, let us know and we will be sure to find a time that does! For more information about the Maize and Blue Cupboard, you can visit our website at mbc.studentlife.umich.edu.

Thank you again for your donation,
The MBC Staff

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