Organizing a Group Shopping Trip

Take a Field trip to your grocery store and buy food for charity--make it fun to see how far you can stretch your dollars to get the most food!

Earn the Hunger Patch for Girl Scouts or the Scouting for Food badge for Boy Scouts with the program. Earn Community Service hours with the program.

Children enjoy taking field trips to their local grocery store to buy food for charity. Contact your local store's manager to arrange a possible store tour, then refer to the Coupon Mom's list of Best Deals for charity for your store . These instructions are best for small groups (fewer than 20 children). For larger groups, click here.

Explain how to make a shopping list and look for good charity deals to the group prior to taking the trip for the best results (15 minutes).  Decide on a maximum dollar amount each shopper should spend (such as $3.50, which is equal to the school’s roller skating admission, or 60 cents for the cost of an ice cream bar at school). The amount is a guideline; each shopper can determine what they want to spend.

Schedule the group shopping trip and arrange for parents to bring their shoppers to the store. Shoppers can organize their list prior to the trip using the store sale ad. The list needs to have the right coupons and exact change for the items selected (including a small amount for tax) in an envelope. This should take each shopper no more than 30 minutes, since the list is short (a good math exercise).

If you do not have time to present the program in advance of the trip, simply have children meet at the store with their money, and buy items that do not require coupons. 

When shoppers meet at the store for their trip, assign 4-5 shoppers (if elementary age) per adult leader. Keep each child's items divided in the cart (children really enjoy paying for their own individual order).