Hosting a Food Drive

Want to support the BU Food Pantry by hosting a food drive? Food drives and other donations make it possible for us to support students’ wellbeing by working to ensure that every BU student has access to enough food.   

Things to think about:

  • Who are the folks you’re hoping to get to donate?  
  • When and where will it be held?  
  • Is your food drive tied to another event or is it a standalone drive? 
  • Do you want to focus on a particular item or host a more general drive (see the food list below)? 

Once you iron out the details above, please fill out this form, which will collect basic information about your food drive. You will then receive an email from aerasani@bu.edu, confirming your food drive and providing next steps.

Advertising your food drive:

We want to ensure that folks know that by donating food, they are supporting the students at Boston University. When hosting a food drive to support the pantry, we ask that you use the logo of the BU Food Pantry.  Marketing materials will be shared with you, once you submit the form above.

Collecting Food 

  • You will need a box, bin, or cart to receive and store donations. Food is heavy, so be sure to have a plan that allows us to move the donations. 
  • All donated food should be new, unopened, and before its “best by” date. While we can accept items that are not on our key stock list, we are not able to accept perishable items like meat, dairy, or produce. 
  • Please encourage donors to your food drive to donate key stock items. Our key stock items are listed below.

Donating Your Food  

  • All donations will be received at the main Food Pantry, which is located at Charles River Campus location, at 930 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 265.  
  • Small donations of about 25 cans or boxed goods can be brought to the pantry during our distribution hours. (Check our website for our current hours.)  
  • For larger donations, you must arrange a time to drop off your donation. We want to be sure we have staff available to receive your items! You can email aerasani@bu.edu to arrange this. 
  • We are happy to provide you with the total weight of your donation – just ask! If you would like your donation weighed in two or more separate batches (like to determine the results of a competition-style food drive), please let us know in advance.  
  • We can only coordinate donation pick up if you contact us in advance. Student Wellbeing or the BU Food Pantry is unable to pay facilities to move donations. We may be able to help coordinate a pickup with the support of the Community Service Center. 

Check out this article in BU Today about the BU Food Pantry

    List of Foods Collected at the Pantry

    • Canned black beans 
    • Canned red beans 
    • Canned garbanzo beans / chickpeas            
    • Dry lentils 
    • Canned green beans 
    • Canned peas  
    • Canned corn 
    • Canned carrots 
    • Canned tomatoes 
    • Canned mixed vegetables                
    • Canned peaches 
    • Canned pineapple 
    • Canned mixed fruit 
    • Canned mandarins/oranges
    • Chicken soup
    • Vegetarian soup  
    • Pasta 
    • Mac and cheese 
    • White rice (1-2lb bags)        
    • Brown rice (1-2lb bags)
    • Canned chicken 
    • Canned tuna                               
    • Boxed cereal 
    • Peanut butter 
    • Jam/ Jelly 
    • Tomato sauce 
    • Oatmeal 
    • Granola bars
    • Ramen
    • Tea
    • Packaged Popcorn