A Simple Gesture Updates and Publishes 2026 Volunteer Calendar for Stutsman County

A Simple Gesture updated and published a consolidated Volunteer & Events Calendar that centralizes 2026 tag pickup schedules, signups for Food Recovery shifts and volunteer opportunities across Stutsman County. The calendar was published on Feb. 19, 2026 and is presented as a single reference point for Green Bag pickups, driver shifts and countywide volunteer listings.

A Simple Gesture was started in 2011 by Jonathan Trivers in Paradise, California, and the organization’s model "has been replicated by over 70 chapters nationwide." Trivers founded the program after retirement; "Jonathan was retired and looking for a way to give back to his community. His overall goal was to provide a 'simple' way to get the community involved in a food donation cycle to help feed families in need."

The ASG Green Bag program enrolls donor households who receive a reusable ASG green bag at their first pickup and fill it with non-perishable grocery items. Program instructions include: "Fill the ASG Bag with needed food items," "Leave the ASG Green Bag outside your door on a designated pick up day," and "Volunteers will pick up the ASG Green Bag at your home and leave an empty one for the next pick up." Pacsphx text notes that "one of our super fabulous volunteer drivers will pick it up and leave a replacement bag in its place," and volunteers then take filled bags directly to PACS: "Once collected, our volunteer drivers take the filled Green Bags directly to PACS."

Chapter pages show differing local schedules. Pacsphx lists a 2026 pickup schedule as 1/10/2026, 3/07/2026, 5/02/2026, 7/11/2026, 9/12/2026 and 11/07/2026. A Simple Gesture - Reston lists its next pickup as Saturday, February 7, 2026, 8:30 a.m., and describes its program as "bi-monthly (six times a year)." Reston reports donation totals for that chapter: "Last donation (December, 2025): 29,942 Pounds," "Total donations this year: 149,624 Pounds," and "Total donations since inception (June 2015): 1,280,115 Pounds."

The consolidated Stutsman County calendar is presented as countywide centralization, but the calendar content published Feb. 19, 2026 was not reproduced in the materials reviewed. Pacsphx and Reston schedules differ on next-pickup dates and cadence - Pacsphx uses "every other month" wording while Reston labels its cadence "bi-monthly (six times a year)" - and it is not clear from available materials whether the county calendar standardizes a single schedule or aggregates chapter-specific entries.

PACS is named as a recipient pantry for Green Bag deliveries in Pacsphx material: "Food from the Green Bags help stock the shelves at PACS to serve our community." Local volunteers and organizers in Stutsman County now have a consolidated calendar to consult, but chapter-specific pickup dates and the original report’s references to "tag pickup schedules" and "Food Recovery shifts" remain details to confirm with the calendar administrator or local ASG coordinators before scheduling or dispatching volunteer drivers.