Two Can Tuesday
A project (you can start) in your neighborhood to collect groceries for those who need them.
Why Donate Food,
Hygiene & Household Items?
While it's true that monetary donations allow food banks to stretch their dollars—thanks to bulk purchasing and flexible sourcing—organizations such as Neighborhood House consistently emphasize that both financial and food donations are essential.
TANGIBLE GIVING FOSTERS CONNECTION: Many donors feel more personally engaged when they contribute physical items. It's a hands-on way to participate in community care, and many choose to give both food and funds.
IT'S A TEACHING MOMENT: In-kind donations are a great way to teach children about generosity and empathy. Dropping off a can of tuna or a bottle of olive oil becomes a meaningful ritual. One young family we know drops off groceries in the TCT bin with each library visit!
COMMUNITY IN-KIND DONATIONS OFFER VARIETY: Food pantries must stretch their dollars, often by buying the basics in bulk. Community giving adds variety to pantry choices, bringing added value and perhaps some pleasure for the recipients. Think spices, boxed milk, flour and sugar, muffin mixes, nuts, juice boxes, and the like.
HYGIENE AND HOUSEHOLD SUPPLIES ARE DAILY ESSENTIALS: Getting by means more than just eating. Food pantry clients need toothpaste, soap and shampoo, laundry detergent, period products, baby food, diapers, and toilet paper. Dignity starts with meeting everyday needs.
SEASONAL ABUNDANCE MATTERS: Local gardeners and farms often donate fresh produce, items not available through bulk purchasing. These contributions bring nutrition and variety to food bank shelves.
We're proud to support local food banks through ongoing collections, and we encourage you to give in whatever way feels most meaningful. Every contribution counts.
A Food Collection Success Story
It began with a mission: Find an easy way for people to donate food, and for others to collect and deliver it to a local food pantry. It has become one of our most successful projects ever!
The concept is simple. Choose a day of the week and ask your neighbors to leave a food donation near their mailbox or at the foot of their driveway. Volunteers from your neighborhood collect the donations and deliver them to a food pantry. We started this in the Bridlemile, Ash Creek, and Garden Home neighborhoods on their respective trash pick-up days. The results have been astounding!
CURRENTLY, TCT volunteers are picking up donations in the Ash Creek, Bridlemile, Garden Home, Hayhurst, Maplewood, Markham, Marshall Park, Moonshadow, Multnomah, and Wilcox neighborhoods. If you'd like to donate for the first time or would like to help us grow into other neighborhoods, email TwoCanTuesday@gmail.com.
Specifically, we are SEEKING VOLUNTEERS who would like to start and promote pick-ups for their street. We look forward to training you!
ALREADY A TCT DONOR?
If you'd find it helpful to receive an email reminder of your weekly donation a day ahead of time, send your email address to TwoCanTuesday@gmail.com. And many thanks for being a part of the TCT movement!
Emergency Kindness Event - A Community in Need
Over the past month, several local jurisdictions have declared states of emergency in response to the impact of increased federal immigration enforcement on community members. These declarations reflect the seriousness of what many families are experiencing: widespread fear and hesitation to leave home — even for basic needs. Many immigrant and low-income residents are avoiding grocery stores, medical appointments, school, and essential errands due to fear and uncertainty.
Through our long-standing relationship with Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center (VGMHC), we have learned that these challenges are not limited to their patient base alone. Families and individuals throughout the broader community are struggling to access food, hygiene products, and basic household necessities.
Through Positive Charge! PDX’s Two Can Tuesday (TCT) project, one of our most successful food insecurity initiatives, and during the recent SNAP crisis and rising community need, we expanded TCT into multiple local businesses so that people had trusted, easily accessible places to donate. Now, we are now launching a special TCT collection effort to support VGMHC and the broader community in need. Donations will include non-perishable foods, hygiene products, and household essentials that VGMHC will safely distribute to families and individuals unable to access these items anywhere else right now. Bin locations listed below and designated by “VGMHC” after their name will have donated items delivered to and distributed by VGMHC.
TWO CAN TUESDAY BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS
FOR CONVENIENT DONATION DROP-OFF
We also involved several local businesses, increasing the reach of our program. This way, anyone can donate to the Two Can Tuesday project—knowing TCT volunteers will pick up the donations and deliver them to Neighborhood House Free Food Market (NH) in SW Portland, Catholic Charities Refugee Program (CC) in SE Portland,
Lift Urban Portland (LUP) in NW Portland, Hunger Fighters Oregon (HFO) in Lake Oswego, and Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Clinics (VGMHC) throughout Washington & Yamhill counties. The following are available for drop off of donations of nonperishable food and hygiene items during their business hours:
SW PORTLAND
Basics Market - Hillsdale (NH)
Butterfly Effect Art Space - Multnomah Village (NH)
Driftwood Coffee - SW Vermont (NH)
Garden Home Community Library (NH)
(bin located through the white gate)
The Local (Real Estate) Group - Multnomah Village (NH)
Maplewood Coffee & Tea (NH)
Hayhurst Elementary School (NH)
Windermere Realty Trust - Raleigh Hills (VGMHC)
DOWNTOWN PORTLAND
Steinberg Investment Group - Umpqua Bank Plaza (VGMHC)
(bin located in main, downstairs lobby)
SE PORTLAND
Honey Latte Cafe - SE Main (CC)
Tōv Coffee - SE Hawthorne (CC)
Wow and Flutterville Play Garden - Sellwood on SE 17th
Dairy Hill Ice Cream - Sellwood/Moreland (VGMHC)
N PORTLAND
Wow and Flutterville Play Garden - N Vancouver Ave
Madrona Hill Cafe - N Greeley Ave (CC)
CEDAR MILL
Wow and Flutterville Play Garden - NW 107th
LAKE OSWEGO
Dairy Hill Ice Cream (3 Monroe Parkway) (HFO)
WEST LINN
Dairy Hill Ice Cream - West Linn (VGMHC)
Other Portland businesses who'd like to partner with us
on this important project by hosting a Two Can Tuesday collection bin
should email TwoCanTuesday@gmail.com.
We'd love to hear from you!
It's easy to start a Two Can Tuesday collection in your neighborhood. Scroll down for more information on how to launch it. Two Can Tuesday is a great way to help the community right where you live, and it's amazing how fast your collections add up!
More Than Just Cans
Two Can Tuesday can collect more than just canned food. Here are common items people add to their collection bins:
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Nuts & dried fruit
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Boxed milk & juices
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Gluten free/vegan non-perishables
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Non-peanut nut butters
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Olive oil
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Whole grain cereals & crackers
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Spices (including salt & pepper)
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Sugar & flour
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Toilet paper
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Dental supplies
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Dish & laundry detergent
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Travel size soaps & hygiene products
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School supplies
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Diapers (adult & children)
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Pet food (open bags, OK!)
For a current list of Neighborhood House's most-needed items, click here.
Ready to Get Started?
Here are the easy-to-follow steps to launch a Two Can Tuesday project in your own neighborhood.
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Choose the food pantry to benefit from your collection. Make sure to ask them days and hours when they accept donation, and what items they need the most.
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Choose your pick-up day. We recommend Tuesday because it matches the name of the event. Plus, it lets you use the mascot that's come to represent this fun project: the Toucan!
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Assemble your team. Sign up your volunteers and create a pick-up calendar so folks know when it's their turn to collect the donations. Have a kick-off event in your neighborhood park to launch the event. It's a great way to find more volunteers and meet your neighbors!
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Sign a waiver. It's important for your volunteers to sign a waiver. Click here for a copy of the waiver we use.
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Set up a tracking system. We suggest a shared Google sheet that captures your pick-up schedule, the pick-up areas you'll cover and the number of pounds you've collected.
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Call your garbage/recycling company. If your pick-up day is also trash collection day, you should contact your local garbage company and let them know people will be leaving bins, boxes or bags of food at the curb so it's not mistakenly thrown out. Your local garbage company may want to co-sponsor your collection!
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Advertise! Make up a flyer and promote your new program. You may also want to contact your neighborhood newspaper, homeowners association newsletter and post on NextDoor. We recommend that you tell your neighbors to put their donation in a weatherproof, critter-proof container.
The key ingredient to success . . . is you!
Automated Weekly Reminders
Would a weekly reminder, helping you remember to put out your donations for
Two Can Tuesday, be helpful to you?
We've got you covered!
Simply send a message to TwoCanTuesday@gmail.com,
indicating the email address where you would like to receive the weekly
reminder, and we'll take it from there!
