Food Drives & Donations
Your support helps keep our neighbors fed and cared for.
- Give Financially — Your monetary gifts for the Food Pantry allow us to purchase food and hygiene items that are not donated by the community or from Central Texas Food Bank to fill our shelves with a variety of items that our neighbors need most.
- Host a Food Drive — Rally your friends, neighbors, workplace, or faith community to collect shelf‑stable food and hygiene items.
- Donate Food or Hygiene Items — Every can, box, and essential item helps keep our shelves stocked for families in need.
Supporting Food Programs at The Caring Place is a powerful way to connect with your community, promote local services, and ensure a steady supply of nutritious food and essential items for our neighbors. We are grateful for every donation!
Click any box below to learn more about how you can help The Caring Place Food Programs.
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Host a no-food food drive with a Little Blue Barrel today! Thanks to our partnerships and purchasing power, The Caring Place can purchase more food with each dollar than a consumer can buy at the grocery store.
Financial Food Drives
You can borrow a Little Blue Barrel and host a financial food drive! Use it to collect cash and check donations through your church, neighborhood, business, club or other organization. Once your drive is complete, simply return the barrel to The Caring Place!
To host a financial food drive:
- To borrow a Little Blue Barrel please fill out our request form on our food donation page or contact Rita Turner at rturner@caringplacetx.org or 512-943-0702.
- Please provide name, organization (if applicable), address, phone number and email address.
- Borrow the Little Blue Barrel for up to 7 days, then return it to Rita at 2000 Railroad Avenue or call 512-943-0702 for a local pick up.
- Please keep the Little Blue Barrel in your possession during your week of fundraising. Since you are receiving monetary donations, we ask that you do not leave the Little Blue Barrel unattended at events or in public.
- If a donor would like a receipt, please have them provide their name and mailing address and attach it to their donation.
- If you’re writing a check to help us purchase food, please make it out to “The Caring Place, and put “Food Pantry” in the memo line.
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With a Big Blue Barrel, your organization can collect non-perishable food and necessities that your neighbors need most! Whether you are part of a school, faith community, or places of business, you can help fill the Food Pantry!
Blue Barrel Food Drives
Food & Necessity Drives
Thank you for helping fill the Food Pantry! The pantry always needs new, unopened, unexpired food and necessities and items such as hygiene items, canned soups, tomato products (pasta sauce etc.), canned meats and breakfast foods.
Did you know? The Caring Place gives out more than food! Hygiene items, diapers, detergent, toilet paper and other basics are a much-needed part of our pantry.
If you would like to prioritize filling the Food Pantry with the items our neighbors need most, we can provide your group a specific list of categories or items to collect during your drive.
To arrange a drive, please fill out our request form on our main food donation page.
Once completed, you can schedule a date to deliver your donation or arrange for a pick-up. Please note, we are only able to drop-off and pick-up barrels on Thursdays.
How The Caring Place can support your drive:
- Custom flyers or graphics, by request, to promote your drive
- Big Blue Barrel drop-off and pick-up
- Information on the total weight of your final donation
Looking for more support? Let us know!
For questions or more information, please fill out our request form on our main food donation page.
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No matter the size of your donation, it's helping neighbors in need! No scheduling needed, you can drop off donations of food and necessities like hygiene items during our Food Pantry or donation drive-through hours!
Individual Food Donations
Every donation helps neighbors in need!
The Caring Place accepts donations of new, unopened, unexpired food and necessities such a hygiene items at our 2000 Railroad Ave. location.
How to drop off Food Pantry donations:
- Drop off Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM or Thursdays from 2 PM to 6 PM.
- Pull into the parking lot on the north side of The Caring Place and pull into the covered parking spaces reserved for the pantry; a team member will come unload your donation.
If you'd like to collect the items neighbors need most, please email engage@caringplacetx.org or call 512-943-0700. The pantry always needs new, unopened, unexpired food and necessities and items such as:
- hygiene items
- canned soups
- tomato products (pasta sauce etc.)
- canned meats
- breakfast foods
The Food Pantry cannot accept items such as:
- Open or expired foods
- Prepared foods leftover from events
- Foods which are not packaged commercially (i.e. foods canned in your home kitchen or farm-fresh eggs from your home)
You may also drop Food Pantry donations in our 2000 Railroad Avenue drive-through on the south side of The Caring Place, Monday through Saturday, from 10 AM to 4 PM.
Why Financial Gifts Matter
Because of our partnership with the Central Texas Food Bank, and generous companies like HEB and Costco, we can stretch every donated dollar. Your financial gift allows us to purchase significantly more food than you could buy at the store, helping us plan inventory more efficiently and serve more neighbors.
