ROI Makes One Can A Week
Even More Appealing
Return On Investment (ROI) is the phrase I hear a lot when presenting One Can A Week to food stores. My argument is that One Can A Week encourages customers to buy a little more for the needy and the Community Food Bank which in turn means that there’s a little more profit at the end of the day.
Ron Abbott, owner of the Rincon Market was the first to let me set up a table every Saturday for 3 hours in the front of his store. He sold some cans and cereal every week but most of his customers donated cash. I asked him a number of times if he would like to buy food instead of donating the cash. Ron thought he’d stick with the cash donation for the present.
Last Wednesday I set up my display table for the first time at the Sunflower Market on Speedway and Swan and encountered a little activity. Many people saw me for the first time as they left the checkout line and mentioned they would catch me next week. This is a good sign. Also, a number of folks dropped off a dollar or two in my collection plate as they hurried home to make dinner.
The deal I made with Richard Rodriguez, the Sunflower Market manager was the same I offer to all food stores. Any cash that I collect can be used to buy food before I leave for the evening. I do the purchasing so they don’t have to get involved. It’s the same concept as picking up my neighbor’s donated food on Sunday. Easy makes more folks want to participate.
Potatoes were 47 cents a five pound bag so I took the max … 4 bags. I also got some very large cans of diced tomatoes. And Mary Fimbres is right. Thinking about what others may want to eat when shopping sure makes buying food a whole lot of fun.
I told Ron what I had done on Wednesday and offered to do the shopping for him after my stint on Saturday. He warmed to the idea because he’s in business to make a profit and at the same time he has a very strong desire to help folks. “If you purchase the food, he said, “everybody wins. That’ a good thing.”
Everybody does wins with One Can A Week. The folks who give, the folks who receive and the folks like Ron and Richard who make it possible for me to get the word out every week about all of our hungry kids. I win, too, because I get to do some really fun and easy community service.
Usually while I eat lunch on Sunday, Kym stops by and puts her 13th Street collection in front of the Ford. This Sunday, the food was there when I drove up for lunch. There was no check, however, so I guessed it was probably forgotten this week.
After lunch there was more food and the check in front of the Ford. Then who made that extra drop? Not sure but I always like food surprises.
We collected a total of 252 lbs. of food, including 8 lbs. from The Axis Food Mart. The money we donated amounted to $59.50 … $35.00 in checks and $24.50 in cash.
See you Sunday,
Peter
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