Community Events
Great Plates of Downtown
Great Plates of Downtown is a partnership between the Food Bank, the Downtown Development Association and participating Old Town Fort Collins restaurants. For two weeks in March, restaurants offer dining specials and encourage patrons to “leave their change” for the Food Bank. Join us March 1 through March 14, as nearly 40 restaurants, bars and dessert shops offer delicious specials for a great cause.
Plant It Forward
Each growing season, Larimer County residents are asked to “plant it forward” in an effort to provide fresh produce for neighbors in need. Plant It Forward is a joint partnership between the Food Bank and the Gardens on Spring Creek.
Stamp Out Hunger
Held on the second Saturday in May and sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, Stamp Out Hunger is the nation’s largest one-day food drive.
September is Hunger Action Month
Hunger Action Month makes it easy for everyone to get involved in the fight to end hunger. The Food Bank encourages simple actions to take during the month of September to fight hunger in Larimer County.
Cans Around the Oval
Cans Around the Oval is the largest community food drive benefiting the Food Bank for Larimer County. More than 150 different CSU campus and community organizations participate in this event each October to bring much-needed food for hunger relief programs to the Food Bank. In 2018, the drive collected more than 35,000 pounds of food and a record $61,459 in monetary donations. The event is sponsored and organized by the Student Leadership, Involvement, and Community Engagement (SLiCE) office at CSU.
Turkey Round Up
Each holiday season, the Food Bank collects, stores and then distributes turkeys and holiday “fixins” to our agency partners, including Salvation Army and Catholic Charities who, in turn, provide holiday meals and/or holiday meal baskets. To help meet the need, Poudre School District holds its Annual Turkey Round Up each November. PSD staff and students compete to collect the most turkeys to donate to the Food Bank. Turkeys are also donated by companies, churches and individuals who join together to make sure everyone in our community has a holiday meal.
Bountiful Boards
Bountiful Boards is back! After graciously hosting and organizing the event for more than a decade, Sears Trostel Lumber stepped away from Bread ‘N’ Boards in 2019. The Fort Collins Creator Hub stepped up in a big way to support the event and create the beautiful handmade cutting boards that have made Bread ‘N’ Boards a community favorite. The annual event, now called Bountiful Boards, raises thousands of dollars for the Food Bank’s hunger relief efforts in our area. We are still working on this year’s COVID-19 version of Bountiful Boards, so stay tuned for more details as they become available.
City & County Food & Fund Drive
For more than 30 years, the City of Fort Collins, City of Loveland, and Larimer County have participated in the Food Bank for Larimer County’s Food & Fund Drive Competition, a competition pitting each organization against each other. From bake sales to holiday parties and burrito drives, each department utilizes different incentives and promotions to raise the most funds or food for the Food Bank for Larimer County.
