If you are concerned about helping others and want to be a good citizen, this is a great way to have some fun while helping your local food bank. If it is for a birthday party, you can ask guests to bring money to be spent on food items for the hunt, rather than bring gifts.
There are 2 ways to play: If guests do bring cash, divide the guests into teams and divide the money equally between teams. Each team gets a list and a shopping cart at your local grocery store. The first team to get all the items on the list (and spend any remaining cash on additional items for extra credit) and check out – wins. You can also give extra points for most items collected or total heaviest load.
Alternatively, you can ask a 4-6 neighbours to join in. Ask them if they have any items they are willing to donate to the food bank, and bring additional ones over. Put everything that has been gathered into a box. Houses are assigned a number, and teams are assigned a number. Teams each start at the house number that matches theirs, and take 3 items from each box to cross off their list. They then go to the next house and get 3 more items. Teams have no way of knowing which items will not be available later, or which will be duplicate, but they have to try to cross as many items off their list as possible.
You can make a list of items for each team – what they need to collect and what the point value is. (Items you have plenty of would have lower points, rare items would have higher points – but the rare items must be spread around the houses evenly).
For instance, canned salmon could have 10 points, canned veggies 2 points, dried pasta 4 points, oatmeal 5 points, soup 6 points, tea 12 points, baby food 8 points, etc. Teams have to get as many items on their list as possible and have to get as many points as possible.
