There is a reason that there are so many food fundraiser ideas out there! Who would say no to an opportunity to indulge in some delicious treats, eat out at their favorite restaurant, or socialize over a perfect cup of coffee – and even better when it’s for a good cause too!
A food fundraiser is a fantastic way to raise funds for your cause, bringing together friends, family, and organization members to enjoy a social event that also packs a punch for your tastebuds.
Fundraising with food is a great option for any nonprofit, school group, club, or individual. There are a huge variety of food fundraising ideas to choose from, meaning that regardless of your size, budget, or available resources, there is something for everyone!
This blog is a run down of 30 of the best food fundraiser ideas organized by type and different audiences to help you find the perfect food fundraiser for your group this year.
Choosing A Food Fundraising Idea
A food fundraiser can be anything you want it to be. From a savoury pizza night fundraiser to a sweet treat, there’s cuisine for all tastebuds. Similarly, there are plenty of choices for kids, teenagers, family-friendly options, or all-adult events, depending on your audience.
For all your food fundraising needs, check out these top 30 food fundraiser ideas below!
No-Fuss Food Fundraiser Ideas
These ideas are minimum-effort food fundraiser ideas, perfect for easy fundraising when you’re short on time or budget.
1) Donut Fundraiser
A donut fundraiser is a great option for schools, clubs, nonprofits and individuals. With the Krispy Kreme Digital Dozens campaign, your group can raise funds by encouraging supporters to buy a pack of Original Glazed donuts, and up to 70% of all sales will be donated back to your cause!
All you need to do is launch a Digital Dozens campaign and spread the word to friends and family. Everyone can enjoy delicious, fresh donuts while supporting your cause!
Image by Clément Proust on Pexels.
2) Bake Sale
A bake sale is a long-trusted food fundraiser idea that never fails. It’s a perfect fundraiser for school clubs, sports teams, church groups, or nonprofit groups. Grab a team of bakers and whip up some cakes, cookies, and other delicious treats.
A bake sale is a low-cost option that really only requires some enthusiastic volunteers and a little coordination to publicize your event and set it up on the day. Charge for you baked goods and raise funds while making people smile with a sweet treat!
3) Coffee Club Fundraiser
Launch a coffee club fundraiser in your office or across a community, inviting people to go out for a coffee date at your local cafe to raise funds.
With GroupRaise, you can choose from a number of different local outlets that will donate a percentage of all sales back to your cause when you create a fundraising event. Choose a date, and invite people to go and grab a cup of joe, a fresh croissant or pastry, and enjoy a catch-up with a friend, all while raising funds for a cause.
Image by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.
4) ‘Guess the sweets’ jar competition
This food fundraiser is one of the easiest out there and perfect for kids. Simply grab a big jar and fill it with small sweets, such as Jelly Beans or something similar. Kids can take a guess at how many sweets are in the jar, and the person who is closest to the right answer wins the jar!
Charge a donation for each guess to raise funds. You can also make it festive by putting a spooky twist on your candy for Halloween, or filling it with candy canes for Christmas.
5) Bubble Tea event
Bubble Tea is still such a popular beverage, especially for teenagers. Create a Bubble Tea fundraiser event with Quickly, your local Bubble Tea experts, and raise funds for your cause in a super easy and enjoyable way for everyone!
All you need to do is find your local Bubble Tea shop and book an event via GroupRaise. You can find the full details on how to organize a Bubble Tea fundraiser here.
Food Fundraisers For Kids And Families
These food fundraiser ideas are family-friendly and great for younger audiences, such as PTA groups, schools, or sports teams and clubs.
6) Pizza Party
Host a Pizza Party for your group at a local Pizza restaurant and raise funds for your cause. With GroupRaise, you can choose from some of the best Pizza places, including Fresh Brothers, Topper’s Pizza, and Papa Gino’s, and they will donate a percentage of all sales for your event to your cause.
Choose a date for your event and invite everyone to your Pizza Party, enjoying great food, good company, and raising funds too!
Image by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash.
7) Lemonade Stall
A lemonade stall is such a classic food fundraiser idea. It’s perfect for summer, or for sports events, movie nights, or other community events you might have happening in your local area.
Organize a team of volunteers to set up and man the lemonade stall, creating a rota to have all the slots covered, and serve refreshing lemonade to sports fans or thirsty customers to raise funds for your cause!
8) Breakfast Fundraiser
Hosting a give-back breakfast is a fantastic food fundraiser idea that is great for connecting with your community and raising for your cause. Invite club, team, and organization members to purchase tickets to attend the breakfast and provide a delicious spread of hot and cold foods.
You can set up an information point raising awareness of your cause with flyers and posters, and put a donation box out for extra funds on the day!
Alternatively, host a breakfast at your favorite local restaurants – we’re talking pancakes and fry-ups, the whole works!
9) Mad Hatter Tea Party
Host a Tea Party for your community and enjoy an afternoon of fun, games, and cakes! A Mad Hatter Tea Party is a great fundraiser idea for school clubs, teams, nonprofits, and church groups.
Invite members to purchase tickets and attend the tea party. Organize volunteers to help bake some tea party treats and set up the event, and you can also set a theme for fancy dress and games too. Award prizes for best costumes and game winners for even more fun!
10) Pie Contest
Organize a Pie Contest for your club, team, or church group, and ask everyone to get their best chef hat on and bake a pie for judging. Spread the word, with a date and time for the judging event. Everyone brings along their pie, paying a small donation fee to submit an entry, and a panel of judges decide which is the best.
You can include categories such as age groups, ‘Most Interesting Flavor’, ‘Prettiest Pie’, and more, awarding a prize to each winner. If you’re hosting this event in fall, you could make it a Pumpkin Pie competition to find the best recipe out there!
Image by sheri silver on Unsplash.
11) Ice Cream Parlour Fundraiser
Who doesn’t love ice cream? An ice cream fundraiser is a fantastic event for the summer months when the kids are off school and the sunshine is out. Organize an event for your community with a local ice cream parlor, such as The Dairy Queen or Oberweis, and enjoy the best quality ice cream for a good cause!
GroupRaise has some great articles for top ice cream food fundraiser ideas here, so be sure to check those out. You can also search for your address and find your local ice cream parlor to book your event.
12) Netflix and Takeout
Enjoy a relaxed evening in with the family or friends watching a great movie and ordering takeout! This food fundraiser idea is also great for sports teams, clubs, and school groups. You can organize a ‘Netflix Party’ and get all the kids watching the movie together, virtually.
Choose a local restaurant to partner and fundraise with by encouraging everyone to order take out. Go for Mexican, a Burger Joint, or any other favorite local restaurant that your group will love. Spread the word, choose a film, then sit back and enjoy!
13) Blue Plate Special
This food fundraiser idea is a fun twist on the food fundraiser! A blue plate fundraiser has guests bidding for their dinner, which remains hidden. Meals are prepared by volunteers ahead of time and can be anything they choose – as simple as scrambled eggs or something more adventurous such as a pie or fancy roast!
It is up to each volunteer to decide what to bring, and each meal is covered to conceal its identity. Guests bid on the secret meals, advertised by the host, who keeps people guessing as to whether it is a fancy meal or not!
Starting bids can vary on what seems appropriate, but a standard rate would be $20-$25, and then go up from there.
Seasonal Food Fundraisers
These food fundraisers are perfect ideas if you’re looking for a tasty seasonal event.
14) January Juice Kick!
January is always a month of healthy habits, so why not choose a food fundraiser that everyone can enjoy while still sticking to that healthy diet? A January Juice fundraiser with Juice it Up or another local juice place is a really easy way to encourage supporters to fundraise with you.
Find your local juice joint and select a day for your Juice Kick event. Spread the word and get people to order their favorite juice. A percentage of all sales will be donated back to your cause!
You can find out more about fundraising with Juice it Up here!
Image by Boba Jaglicic on Unsplash.
15) Valentines Candy Grams
Spread the love with this great food fundraiser for schools, a fun and easy way to raise funds on the day of love!
Set up a Valentines candy gram campaign where kids can pay a small donation to send a sweet treat to their friends on Valentines Day. Your candy grams can be super simple, such as a heart lollipop or a few chocolates. You can order pre-made candy grams online, or use a team of volunteers to make your own.
Kids can choose to personalize their message and everyone can enjoy some little treats on the day.
16) Mardi Gras Pancake Fundraiser
A flippin’ fantastic food fundraiser idea. Mardi Gras, or Pancake Day, which usually falls in late February, is the perfect opportunity to host a Pancake breakfast and raise funds for your cause.
Grab a team of pancake-tossing experts and invite friends and family to purchase tickets to your event and enjoy some delicious pancakes!
Alternatively, you can organize a pancake fundraiser event at your local pancake shack, such as IHOP or Denny’s. Book a fundraiser around Pancake Day and invite everyone to eat out and enjoy pancakes while raising for your cause.
Restaurants will donate a percentage of all sales from your event back to your cause!
Image Sydney Troxell on Pexels.
17) Easter Egg Hunt
Spring is in the air and the Easter Bunny has been busy! What better way to get kids involved with fundraising than with a fun Easter egg hunt?
Easter egg hunts are super easy to organize and can be tremendous fun for everyone – parents included! All you need to do is find a good area for your hunt, such as in the local park, town square, or someone’s garden (if it’s big!), and invite friends and family along.
Kids pay to enter and have to find as many eggs as they can! You can also organize this event as a sports or school club Easter social.
18) Summer Fair Event
Celebrate summer with a community fair, bringing together all your supporters, friends, and family, for a day of food, games, and fundraising. Set up food stalls, such as a Lemonade Stall, Hot Dog bar, or Barbecue, and have some fun games for kids too such as the ‘Guess the Sweets’ Jar, Apple bobbing, and more!
This fundraiser will require a little more planning and a good deal of support from volunteers to run stalls and organize the event, but it’s worth the effort. Raise funds with entry fees and all from every stall!
19) Toffee Apple Sale
This is a great Halloween food fundraiser idea for individuals looking to raise funds, or for kids groups and schools. You can purchase toffee apples or even make your own if you’re feeling brave.
Set up a stall and sell your toffee apples on Halloween to raise funds for your cause. Make sure to advertise your toffee apple sale to entice those with a sweet tooth to your event!
Image by Anglia Square.
20) Potluck Dinner
A potluck dinner is the perfect way to fundraise during the Thanksgiving season. Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude and giving back, so it’s a great opportunity to hold a fundraiser event.
Invite friends to purchase a potluck ticket and bring a homemade dish of their choice to the event. The dish could be anything from a simple starter, to a delicious homemade chilli or elaborate dessert.
Bring everyone together in a community hall, school, or friend’s house to enjoy an evening of socializing, good company, and great food! You can even include voting and awards for the tastiest dishes.
21) Christmas Cookies Sale
Get the kids into the kitchen and feeling festive with this Christmas food fundraiser idea. Kids can bake cookies to sell to friends and neighbors during the holiday season and raise funds through sales.
Just like a bake sale, a cookie sale is super easy to put together and is also a great way to entertain kids over the holidays. Get everyone in your organization to bake up some Christmas cookies and take them round to neighbors to sell and raise funds for your cause!
Image by Kelsey Weinkauf on Unsplash.
22) Gingerbread House Decorating
A fantastic food fundraiser for schools, kids teams, and clubs! Organize one of the club meets as a social event and purchase a bulk amount of gingerbread houses for building and decorating.
A gingerbread house fundraiser is a fun way to get kids creative, and they get to enjoy their houses afterwards too!
You could turn your event into a competition where kids build and decorate their own Gingerbread house at home and bring it in for judging. Kids pay to enter and the best house gets a prize!
Fancy Food Fundraisers
Here are some of the more elaborate and classy food fundraiser ideas you could organize.
23) Gala Dinner Event
A Gala Dinner is a fantastic food fundraiser for larger organizations such as nonprofits. Host a black tie dinner event for all your supporters, with a sit down meal, music, and even an auction too.
You will need a team of volunteers to help organize your event, from finding catering to setting up for the event. Reach out to your community for a local band or donations for an auction, and raise funds with ticket costs and additional donations on the night.
A gala dinner is also a great seasonal event for the festive period. Guests will enjoy an opportunity to dress up in the best, eat a delicious dinner, and socialize with friends!
24) ‘Come Dine with Me’ Fundraiser
A ‘Come Dine with Me’ fundraiser is a creative way to fundraise and also provides a fun evening of good food and friends.
Invite members of your organization to sign up and allocate people into groups. Everyone pays to enter and takes their turn hosting a meal for the group. Participants vote for the best meal and the winner can receive a small prize while all funds go towards your cause!
Image by fauxels on Pexels.
25) Cooking Class
A cooking class is a fantastic food fundraiser idea that’s a little different to other food fundraisers.
Guests can learn new skills, such as how to cook a different cuisine or a particular type of food. Reach out to your local community to see if anyone has the skills to put on a course. This could be a professional cook, pastry chef, or even someone who has experience in a particular cuisine, such as Chinese or Indian food.
You could also ask an organization if they will offer you a discounted price for a professional to run it. Advertise the class across your community and get people cooking for a cause!
26) Wine + Cheese Tasting Fundraiser
A classy food fundraiser option, perfect for nonprofits or PTA groups. Set up an evening of fine wine and cheese tasting for adults to enjoy. It’s the perfect way to socialize, relax, and try new foods too!
You can charge more for tickets to cover costs of the food and drink and raise for your cause too.
Image by Melissa Walker Horn on Unsplash.
27) Chocolate workshop
Who doesn’t love chocolate? A chocolate workshop is a great food fundraiser idea that can work for many different groups.
There are many different organizations that offer chocolate workshops, from elaborate cacao tasting to simple chocolate-making workshops for schools. Find one that meets your audience age group, be that adults or children, and suits your budget. Don’t be afraid to ask for discounted prices as you are raising funds for charity.
Charge for ticket sales and raise funds with some chocolatey fun!
Other food fundraiser ideas
There are also a number of fundraiser ideas that are food-themed without actually involving eating! Check out these ideas below.
28) Sell Your Cookbooks
An opportunity to clear out the cookbooks you no longer use and repurpose them for a good cause! Advertise a cookbook sale and invite people to donate books they no longer use. Make sure that all cookbooks are still good quality so that others will be able to use them for a long time, and gather all your donations in a set place and time.
Set up a stall and make sure to advertise when and where the sale will be taking place. Choose what price to charge for different books depending on the size, cruising, and how old they are, and raise funds with donations and contributions!
29) Soup Kitchen Volunteering
Volunteering at a soup kitchen is a very worthwhile activity that supports your local community. It’s a perfect activity for nonprofits, community groups, and smaller groups focused on community outreach.
Contact your local soup kitchen to see when you can come along with a team of volunteers to help out, and raise funds by encouraging individuals to donate to the cause.
Image by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.
30) Meals on Wheels
Are you a talented chef? Grab a bunch of your best cooks and whip up some delicious homemade meals that you can offer around your local community to those who might need a little extra support.
The meals could be for people who struggle to make it to the shops, new Moms, or perhaps just busy people who want some back up meals in the refrigerator! Charge a donation for your service and spread love and nourishment across the community.
So Much Foodie Fun!
With 30 great food fundraiser ideas to choose from, you won’t be short on options for your 2023 fundraiser calendar.
These foodie fundraisers are all fantastic choices to raise funds in a delicious way with your club or organization. Whether you have a sweet tooth or prefer something savory, there’s a food fundraiser for every taste! If you’re fundraising for kids, go with a fun activity they can get involved with like a bake sale, while a Coffee Club or cookbook sale is a great food fundraiser for companies.
Make sure to check out the hundreds of restaurants near you where you can host a Pizza night, restaurant meal, or Coffee Club event.
So grab your chef hat and let’s get fundraising in the most delicious way possible!
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