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200 families received a full month of groceries and hygiene essentials this winter - thanks to 250 donors and 40 volunteers.
When temperatures dropped last November, we knew that too many families in our community would face a hard choice between heating their homes and feeding their children. That is why we launched the Winter Food Boxes DEMO campaign: to make sure 200 households had a full month of groceries and essential supplies through the coldest weeks of the year.
Each box contained:
Thanks to 250+ donors, four local businesses and 40 volunteers, we raised the full amount and delivered all 200 boxes before New Year.
The campaign reached its goal and then some. Here is what happened on the ground:
Thank you to everyone who gave, volunteered and shared the campaign. Your kindness echoed far beyond one winter - several of the families we met now volunteer with us themselves.
Volunteers packing the winter food boxes
Distributing food boxes to families at the community centre
Preparing food and hygiene kits with volunteers
Organising the donations on pack day
Our volunteer team after the final delivery
Volunteers delivered the 200 boxes to families across Oradea, stopping to chat with every household and leaving a list of the support services we offer.
Two addresses turned out to be out of date and one neighbourhood was hard to reach by car in the snow.
We phoned ahead to confirm each delivery and split the hardest route on foot. Deliveries finished under budget because volunteers used their own cars - savings went back into the community kitchen.
Forty volunteers spent two weekends sorting donations, checking expiry dates and packing balanced boxes - groceries, fresh produce, hygiene basics and a blanket, plus a handwritten card for each family.
A weekend storm cut the first packing session in half and the supply of fresh vegetables dipped during the cold snap.
We added two evening shifts and our market partners topped up the fruit and vegetables. Packing finished on budget.
The volunteer team after the final packing session
Sorting donations and checking expiry dates on pack day
Packing balanced food boxes on the weekend shift
We opened collection points at three local markets and asked supporters to bring non-perishable groceries. Schools and offices joined in, and the first pallets started arriving within a week.
Two market partners pulled out at the last minute and one delivery van broke down, so the first week ran slower than planned.
We rebalanced the collection rota and borrowed a van from a partner charity. The milestone closed one day early.
Feeding families and uniting neighbours, one box at a time.
Hope Gardens Foundation
Hope Gardens Foundation
Hope Gardens Foundation
Bright Minds Alliance
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Create a free account, then sign up to help with this project. After you sign up, someone from Demo Community Food Bank DEMO will reach out with the details .