Seeing the writing on the wall, or in the state safety guidelines, the Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference youth Fall Festival Committee agreed as a team to convert the 4th Annual Hands4Hope Fall Festival into a drive-thru Fall Food Roundup. With aspirations of holding the largest food drive event on El Dorado County’s Western Slope, the committee is planning two drive-thru collection sites, one in El Dorado Hills and one in Placerville on the weekend of September 26 & 27, from 10am-4pm each day.

 

Similar to the Hands4Hope Fall Festival, the committee is planning to make the Fall Food Roundup a fun and festive event with a Western theme, no-touch donation drop-off, and contactless family friendly activities and contests at each collection site. The committee’s goal is to collect three tons of food and $10K in monetary donations. The event will benefit those food insecure in our community and the Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference Education and Community Engagement Programs.

 

The Fall Festival was one of Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference’s largest youth-led fundraising events, and the committee is hopeful that the Food Roundup will not only assist in making up some of the funds lost from cancelling this event, but will also help supply much needed food to individuals and families in El Dorado County impacted by the crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Feeding America, the number of people visiting food banks has increased by 20% since March. 

 

The youth project team is organized to mimic a functioning event production company with the end product being the food drive. Management and staff are made up of youth and the goals are to collect food, raise funds, gain career skills, and­­ have fun. The youth management of this company is mentored by adults with current or past career experience in their area of focus (finance, operations, marketing, etc.).