Our goal is to partner with faith-based and community-action organizations to provide families with affordable food and bring communities together, one box at a time.

A recession is a difficult time for everyone and it can be challenging to figure out where to cut costs and stretch finances. A family’s grocery food bill can put them over budget in no time, especially as the cost of food continues to rise. The Treasure Box has developed a solution to the high cost of feeding today's family.

The Treasure Box provides families and individuals with a substantial box of grocery store quality food retailing between $65-100 for just $30 each. The Treasure Box cultivates relationships with more than 500 major food manufacturers across the country to purchase and provide top quality, nutritious food at sizeable volume discounts to the general public.

Each Treasure Box contains between 21-25 pounds of high quality, frozen foods, including chicken, pork, beef, or seafood, as well as vegetables, fruit, a side dish and a dessert. One Treasure Box is enough food to nutritiously feed a family of four lunch and dinner for almost a week or a senior citizen for nearly a month.

The Treasure Boxes are offered through surrounding host locations – community action or outreach programs and faith-based organizations. Representing a savings of nearly 60% off of grocery store prices, The Treasure Box provides a positive and healthy impact to families and individuals during this economically challenging time.

February 2011 Menus

Ventura County / San Fernando Valley / North and West Los Angles Treasurre Box

OUR MISSION

To partner with faith based and community action organizations to provide families with affordable food
and bring communities together one box at a time

WHO WE ARE

We are a division of Good Source Solutions, a food distribution company with over 20 years of service to nonprofits, higher education, and niche and specialty markets. We have relationships with over 400 major food manufacturers and purchase quality food in bulk at substantial discounts. We work with food manufacturers to utilize their surplus food production to provide affordable, delicious food at a substantial discount to everyone who eats. .

WHAT WE DO

Each month we package together $60-$80 dollars of grocery store food into boxes (The Treasure Box) that are designed to feed a family of four lunch and dinner for about a week, or a senior citizen for almost a month. Although the menu changes monthly, each Treasure Box contains between 22 lbs. - 25 Ibs of high quality, frozen food of which 9 lbs- 12 Ibs is protein (like chicken, beef, pork or seafood), in addition to vegetables, fruit, a side dish and a dessert all for just $32. The boxes are offered through faith based and community action organizations to the surrounding community. This food represents a savings of about 50% off grocery store prices. On the fourth Saturday of each month, the boxes are distributed through the faith based and community action organizations to those who purchased a box.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

In a nutshell, an organization advertises The Treasure Box program to its congregation/members and its local community. The organization accepts pre-orders and payments for the boxes. Then, once a month on the 4th Saturday of each month, the boxes are delivered frozen via a refrigerated truck to a local delivery site. Volunteers from each host organization pick up their boxes from that delivery site and distribute them to their families who ordered boxes. As families pick up their boxes, each organization takes orders and
payments for the following month's Treasure Box.

It is our desire to partner with organizations throughout California and the greater Phoenix Valley to provide this food outreach program to our communities. We are interested in establishing a network of organizations in California and the Phoenix Valley where we can deliver boxes to centrally located sites (DELIVERY SITES) which are surrounded by other participating organizations (HOST SITES). The delivery sites will serve as the distribution hub where the host sites will come to pick up their boxes. Each Host Site will then take their boxes back to their organization where they will be distributed.

HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE PROGRAM?

Once you decide to participate:

1)     Decide how you will take orders and who will be responsible for taking orders

o    Set certain hours in your office

o    Allow orders to be taken before and after church services

o    Direct people to the website at www.thetreasurebox.org to place their orders.

o    Place a Treasure Box widget (link) on your website for people to link directly to
www.thetreasurebox.org where they can place their orders online quickly and
easily

2)     Advertise the details of the program & next
month's menu

o    Announce program from pulpit

o    Bulletin/Newsletters

o    Encourage organization to spread the word

o    Add to your website

o    Post flyers in your community

3)     Accept pre-orders and payments directly from participating families. On the
morning after the order deadline, call in/fax in your order to the Treasure Box and
send in payment for the boxes ordered via check, money order, credit card or
Bank debit

4)     Arrange volunteers for Delivery Day

o    Volunteers to pick up & distribute boxes

5)     DELIVERY DAY!!

o    Volunteers pick up boxes from delivery site (if your organization is not a
delivery site) & deliver to families

o    Take pre-orders & payments for the following month.

WHAT ARE THE TIME COMMITMENTS?

When you consider the number of families who are reached with this program, the actual
time commitment for volunteers is minimal.

Time is needed for the following:

1)      Order times set by your group for when you are available to take orders (Usually a
few mornings and evenings each week or before and after church services or
meeting times)

2)      Time spent compiling orders and sending a master order & payment to
The Treasure Box

3)Volunteers once a month for Distribution Day - Saturday (3-4 hours)

HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL WE NEED?

A program coordinator is needed to organize taking orders and submitting the monthly order to The Treasure Box. Since the order form is easy to complete, often a receptionist can take orders. Some host sites choose to take orders before and after church services or after their organization's weekly meeting times. Many church and organization already have websites. One of the easiest options is for organizations to add a Treasure Box widget (link) to their website that allows people to order the Treasure Box online via
the Treasure Box website. On delivery day (once a month), since the boxes arrive prepackaged, typically as few as 5-6 people are needed to distribute them.

WHAT ARE THE COSTS TO ADMINISTER THIS PROGRAM?

There is no cost for an organization to participate in the program. To make this program self-sustaining, we offer our "Host Sites" an Administrative Support Donation (ASD) of $.75/box for each box ordered through their site after meeting certain criteria. Additionally, if your organization meets the criteria to be a Delivery Site, your church will earn an additional $.25 for each box delivered at your site.

HOW DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION BENEFIT?

The benefits are numerous, including:

1)      RECOGNITION in your community as an organization that not only cares, but is
doing something practical to meet the needs of local families

2)   OUTREACH to families who would not be helped by any other organization

3)      MINISTRY showing God's love in a tangible way by helping families stretch their
food dollar to provide more for their families

4)      INVOLVEMENT allowing all members of your organization to participate,
contribute, and give back to your community

5)      FINANCIAL support via Administrative Support Donation which allows the program
to be self-supporting