7 Healthier Ideas for School Fundraisers

By Carmen Staicer – Chief Mom at DietsInReview.com

Chocolate bars. Take-and-bake pizza and cookies. Popcorn. Lollipops. Candy canes. Candied nuts. The list of typical school fundraisers goes on and on, and none of it is any good for you. Then there’s always wrapping paper, pencils or magazines, but how much of that do any of us really need?

Some schools are coming up with new and creative ideas for fundraisers, with the added bonus that some can even help improve the nutrition for the students. After all, kids who eat healthier have better immune systems, miss fewer days at school, have more energy, less discipline issues, and better grades.

Help your school reach their budget goals and get everyone on track with a healthier lifestyle by suggesting some of the healthy fundraiser ideas we found.

• The New York Road Runners serve more than 100,000 children across the U.S. each week in their youth fitness program Mighty Milers. Currently available in every state in the country, NYRR provides schools with the tools necessary to host successful Fitness Fundraisers based on mileage goals. In March 2010, P.S. 269 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY’s “Little Haiti,” held a quarter-mile charity run for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti and raised $3,200. One year later, P.S. 269 had another Fitness Fundraiser and raised more than $5,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project.

• Topline Foods works with Phoenix-area schools to provide restaurant-quality, all-natural and organic foods that are conveniently packaged and affordably priced. For each order placed via a school’s order page, the company will give back 10 percent, plus an additional four percent for each returning family. A school with 1,000 students could earn $5,000 or more in a year.

• Tanaka Farms in Irvine, California makes available the opportunity for more than 70 schools to buy a share in a CSA (community supported agriculture) to raise funds. Each family that signs up sends money back to the school and fresh fruits and vegetables to their homes. The students are invited to visit the farm with a chance to pick their own produce.

• California Fresh Fundraisers offers fresh citrus fruits from December to April. Orders are taken at schools and produce is delivered in bulk, with a portion going back to the school.

• A charity walk created by parents and students at Gauvin Blackrock Elementary in Coventry, Rhode Island acts as a fundraiser. Children walk with their grade for an allotted amount of time, depending on age, and families are encouraged to walk with them. No set monetary amount is asked, but each family is encouraged to raise as much money as they can, with gift card incentives for each $50 and $100.

• The Annual Romona 1K Family Fun Run introduced by the Romona Elementary School PTA introduced this past spring encourages the entire family to run and/or walk together as a way to kick-off the warm weather season. Donations are accepted and the proceeds go to the PTA.

• The Happy Gardener’s Eco-Fundraiser helps you to grow your own organic vegetables and herbs while your school earns 40 percent of the retail sales. Additionally, the school can earn free composting products for their classrooms and cafeteria based on school sales.

Has your school held a healthy fundraiser with a catchy “outside the box” idea? What would you like to see done to help support schools and improve the health of your family at the same time? Please post below so more people can find great ideas to implement in their schools!

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