About Us
2025 Update: twice the participation!
Cans for Candy for 2025 was a great success: with three neighborhood donation spots in San Mateo, contributions significantly increased compared to 2024's Candy Halloween Food Drive. With more volunteers and more drop off locations, we gathered in total approximately 2,500 meal serving equivalents. 2025 saw double of the in-kind contributions that were made last year, and it involved a total of three San Mateo neighborhoods: This year's particpating communities include Woodlake Association in North Central San Mateo, the Sunnybrae neighborhood, and the Hillsdale neighborhood. Samaritan House of San Mateo received over 92 bags and boxes of donations as a result.
I launched Cans for Candy three years ago, as a response to the drop off in canned food donations after Covid. My long-time Halloween canned food drives ended with a major food bank stopping in-kind donations: bins were no longer dropped off in neighborhoods; bins were no longer available to being transported to beneficiaries after collection. I had no way to continue our family tradition of collecting canned foods prior to the holiday season.
With a budget of $100, I was able to put together the same type of food drive that we were used to performing, without any further help needed from food banks or non-profits. First I found alternate food banks and pantries that still accepted in-kind donations. Then I had to find ways to replace delivered bins, and to create our own artwork and collection information. We used and adapted the published guidelines from institutional providers such as Second Harvest and others, who have lots of experience with the sourcing and handling of canned goods. We then started testing the concept in the first year. During our second year in 2024, we collected about 1,100 meal serving equivalents. In 2025, people have begun to notice our efforts, and even deliver Thank You notes with their canned goods to some of our drop off points.
We are now successfully in our third year, and doubling our results each year, as well. It's not hard, it's fun, and I believe anyone can do this!
This is why I created a do-it-yourself canned food drive platform at www.cansforcandy.org: anyone anywhere CAN create their own food drive with only a minimum of materials. No permission or large infrastructure needed!
We list over 297 food banks and pantries in over 50 states and territories: please explore our site for more information, and find a pantry near you that you can support!
Thank you Woodlake community and my high school friends, it was a treat having you participate in 2025's successful food drive!
- Christoph Stein, November 2025
The Challenge & Our Proof of Concept
After a three year hiatus of canned food drives, I created the Cans For Candy website to organize my first post-Covid canned food drive. Previously, the infrastructure of a larger local food bank had provided me with large collection bins, marketing collateral (such as posters), and I was able to create a collection point with my parents at my house. After collections, the filled bins would be picked up.
Without the infrastructure and the credibility of a sponsoring food bank that provided the coordination, we were left to come up with a plan. Since a lot of larger foodbanks made operational changes during Covid that remained in place, I thought that other local volunteers nationwide were experiencing the same donation changes. This is why I created the easiest food drive template available, which you can get started right now.
www.cansforcandy.org became my proof-of-concept vehicle: within it, I have embedded everything you need to organize a small neighborhood food drive: (1) where to source cheap alternatives for donation bins and bags, (2) a branded experience (Cans For Candy logo, uniform flyers, prominent display of beneficiary institutiion), (3) intake information of the person organizing the campaign (Community Ambassador) and the Beneficiary Institution, as well as exit information at conclusion (how much donated and to whom).
How it Works
In a nutshell, with a few easily and cheaply obtained props (a repurposed lawn leaf bag as donation bin, some colored paper, some easily ordered grocery bags and a black and white printer), you can create your own food drive in about an afternoon.
All you need is
- a few afternoons in October
- access to a printer or Fedex Office printing station
- colored paper (order via Amazon or Staples)
- several packs of paper bags (via Amazon)
- pop-up lawn bags as bins (via Amazon)
- print-out of donation material, staple to bags
- a few afternoon walks distributing your donation bags
- setup of a collection station (with some Halloween candy)
- drive your donations to your pantry after Halloween
Get friends or kids involved, and make it a fun neighborhood walk. Or raise the stakes, and make it a community center or church food drive, delegating several Community Ambassadors to distribute flyers & bags in their vicinity.
Why it Works
After testing in our neighborhood in 2023, we launched www.CansForCandy.org in the summer of 2024; that Halloween we canvassed 2 local neighborhoods and were able to collect 45 donations for Samaritan House San Mateo. Approximately 1,100 meal serving equivalents were collected and made a bit of a difference in the ongoing local fight against food insecurity.
Cans For Candy works, because it is simple, neighborly, and fun!
