Frequently Asked Questions

What is LunchTime to End Hunger®?

LunchTime to End Hunger® is a workplace giving competition that challenges companies across the Chicagoland area to form teams, recruit their colleagues to join, and donate what they would normally spend on lunch for one week to the Food Depository. 

The campaign takes place online during the week of May 6-10, 2019, though companies are welcome to form their teams and begin raising money now! Top fundraising teams will receive public recognition opportunities, and funds raised will ensure that children experiencing hunger across Cook County will have access to healthy meals all year long.

How do I participate?

• Form a corporate team. Check in with your company’s human resources, social responsibility department or senior management to see if your office is participating. Employee engagement ambassadors, such as marketing or social responsibility staff, are also great advocates for corporate fundraising campaigns and can be helpful in organizing a team at your office. Follow this link to register your company as a participating team and find exclusive resources to help with a successful LunchTime to End Hunger® campaign at your office!
• If your company is not signed up to participate, feel free to connect them with the Food Depository’s LunchTime to End Hunger® team to discuss how easy it is to sign up as a team and starting raising funds! Please email us at: lunchtime@gcfd.org.
• Join a corporate team. Follow this link to see if your company has an existing team and join on as a fundraiser with your colleagues.  Share your company’s unique page link within your office and encourage others to donate what they would normally spend on lunch for one week to strengthen your collective campaign participation. 
• Start a Facebook fundraiser. If your company isn't participating in the campaign, start your own fundraising effort on Facebook. Ask your friends to join you in bringing their lunch from home and donating to help hungry kids.
• Donate individually. Follow this link to support the general LunchTime to End Hunger® 2019 campaign. These funds will go directly toward fighting childhood hunger in our community and will not be applied toward a particular team’s fundraising goal.

Do I actually have to give up my lunch?

You do not have to give up your lunch to participate in LunchTime to End Hunger®. Donating the equivalent of what you might normally spend on lunch for a week provides an opportunity to make an impact on the Food Depository’s mission to fight hunger. A gift of $100, for example, can provide up to 300 meals for children in need throughout Cook County.

Can my company provide a corporate match?

Yes! A corporate match is a great way to boost your team’s fundraising total and your collective impact in the community. It is also an inspiring way for companies to lead by example and encourage their employees to participate. If you know your employer offers a matching gift program, make sure to ask your Human Resources department about matching your personal LunchTime to End Hunger® campaign contribution. If you are not sure, or think there may be an opportunity, please connect us with your department and we would be happy to provide more detail about the campaign: lunchtime@gcfd.org.

How do I set a fundraising goal for my team?

Once your office is registered as a team, setting a fundraising goal is a great way to keep your colleagues motivated.  An initial suggestion is to ask each of your colleagues to donate $100, or $20 a day, which will help provide food for 300 meals in our community. Of course, any donation amount will make a difference in our fight against hunger. We recommend you set a suggested donation level that is appropriate and achievable for your office! We can always increase it if you hit your goal early and want to keep the challenge going. 

In setting your fundraising goal, consider how many employees are in your office, and aim to engage a certain percentage of them to participate in the LunchTime to End Hunger® campaign. For example, if you have a small office – how about setting a goal of 90% participation? For a larger office, maybe you set a goal to have five or more different departments represented in your team participation. 

What sort of information will I receive that will help me promote the campaign?

Captains will receive a customizable team webpage, email templates, and physical collateral – such as posters, table tents, and stickers – to publicize the campaign throughout the office. Deliveries of physical collateral will be made by your GCFD LunchTime to End Hunger® contacts to your company’s office in April. When you sign up your team as a captain, you will be asked to request the collateral you would like to use as part of your promotion efforts. For any additional questions, please contact: lunchtime@gcfd.org.

Don't hesitate to use social media as an easy way to spread the word about the great cause you are supporting. Share your participation in LunchTime to End Hunger® with your colleagues on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to increase awareness of hunger in Cook County and how others can support the campaign. Join the movement by tweeting @FoodDepository and using #LunchTimeToEndHunger.

What are some other fun ways to encourage participation and company engagement?

Depending on your office environment and culture, there are many ways to raise money for the LunchTime to End Hunger® campaign at your office. Host a pizza lunch or pot luck and collect donations, offer a jeans day, implement a bake-off or ask your colleagues to make a donation in another way! Communicate that the campaign is a fundraising competition against other companies in Chicago to motivate your colleagues, and plan activities to inspire giving back. 

Are cash pledges and checks also welcome? How does that work?

In addition to online donations, you and your colleagues can also make cash donations.

If you are collecting cash or check donations, team captains may enter those donations into your team page as a cash pledge prior to the campaign close on Friday, May 10, 2019, at 1:00 pm. Please ensure that all cash and checks are submitted to the following address no later than Friday, May 31, 2019:

Greater Chicago Food Depository
Attn: Alexandra Funk and Claire Broadhead, LunchTime to End Hunger®
4100 W. Ann Lurie Place
Chicago, Illinois 60632

What will our donations support?

The Food Depository recognizes a significant need to serve children and their families. Today, one in six Cook County residents turn to the organization’s network of food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and community programs for assistance. 

For many children in Cook County, the breakfast or lunch they receive in school is the only guarantee of a nutritionally balanced meal each day. The end of the school year—and school meals— creates a strain on many families’ budgets and leaves parents struggling to provide healthy meals for their children.

LunchTime to End Hunger® addresses this need, raising critical support for programs that provide healthy meals for children while school is out for the summer and all year long.

My company is not participating, but I want to support the campaign on my own. Can I do that?

We welcome individual participation, even if the campaign might not be a good fit for your company at this time. If you would like to give to the overall Lunchtime to End Hunger® campaign to benefit children’s feeding programs, please follow this direct donation link.