Frequently Asked Questions

A: Pick-up day is the first Saturday of every other month.  The scheduled dates are on the tag of your bag, and listed below:

First Pickup is June 7

Your bag should be placed outside your front door by 8:30 am on pick-up day.   If your bag is not picked up by 10:30, please contact us at asimplegesture@gmail.com 

Food Gatherers accepts donations of perishable and non-perishable foods, as well as non-food items. We follow federal, state, and local food safety regulations, and comply with additional standards to ensure the safety and health of the recipients. Please note the donation guidelines for the following items:

• Canned and dry goods: Unopened and in their original packaging, labeled with ingredients and allergens, in good condition (no dents, bulging or rust), within 1 year past the use-by date.
• Fresh produce: No signs of mold, spoilage or severe bruising. May be purchased or from your own garden.
• Baked goods: Within 2 days past the sell-by date, prepared in a licensed, inspected food establishment, in sealed packaging with allergens and ingredients listed.
• Personal care items: We accept unused personal hygiene products in their original packaging. We also accept cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

It will be dropped off a Food Gatherers in Ann Arbor.

If you have suggestions for local pantries, we're open to serving more organizations as well. Please email asimplegesturemi@gmail.com

When food arrives at Food Gatherers, staff, and volunteers weigh, inspect, and inventory each item. Volunteers are essential to our operations. Annually, thousands of volunteers help rescue and distribute food on food runs, inspect and sort fresh and nonperishable donations, and repackage bulk items.

Once the food is sorted and ready to be distributed, our warehouse team assembles the orders for each partner program. Our drivers, called food runners, are scheduled for up to 68 runs each week. These include deliveries to our partner agencies and programs and pickups from more than local grocery stores and retailers throughout Washtenaw County.

In the morning, our trucks leave the warehouse filled with food. After delivering to our partners, the empty trucks stop at local retailers to collect rescued food. The drivers return to the warehouse, unload the food to be sorted, and then repeat the process again in the afternoon!

Place your food in another grocery bag and mark on it “For A Simple Gesture.”  The driver will leave you a replacement bag.

Please contact asimplegesturemi@gmail.com

Not at the moment, but this is likely to change as we grow . In the meantime, please don't send me money. I can't provide a receipt :)

We needed a noticeable color, and I loved the idea of a hot pink bag.  See images below.