Collapsible Food Donation Collection Box

Concept

My motivation was to make a food donation box that was a little more durable than a corrugated cardboard box for our local military support organization called Operation Support Our Troops – America. One of the missions of our organization is to send 25-pound Comfort and Care packages to deployed troops serving in harm’s way. These packages include food, personnel hygiene items and other reminders of home our troops could use. A cardboard box would not hold up to repeated use and moist weather conditions. I wanted to design a box that was durable, yet light weight so it could be easily transportable. A second consideration was that the box could somehow be folded down to take up less space when not in use. This meant that it must be easily assembled and disassembled. My last consideration was that the collection box be attractive and easy to keep clean.

Design

My first inclination was to make the donation box out of plywood with the sides somehow hinged so the box could be folded flat to ease transport. I soon realized this box would become quit heavy for the size needed. Then I thought of adding wheels to the base to make transport easier. However, this also added more weight and further complicated the potential design.

I came upon the idea of using a woven polypropylene bag (tarp material).The bag of choice is made by DuraSack. It is rectangular in shape and measures 20” x 20” x 28” tall. It is marketed for collecting and hauling yard waste and various clean-up and demo materials. It was the perfect size as a donation collection “box”. The bag is totally reusable. It folds down easily for storage and can be wiped clean and used repeatedly.

Even though the DuraSack is marketed as free-standing, this Instructables will explain how I made a simple, light-weight stand or frame to support the bag and make it a stylish and appealing donation “box”. It will be painted in a red, white and blue color scheme consistent with our organizational mission to provide support to our military family; whether it be to those that are deployed, or to those that have returned home or to families of the fallen.

A.     Base

·        DuraSack 

Amazon.com: DuraSack Heavy Duty Home & Yard Bag - 48 Gallon Woven Polypropylene Bag | Reusable Lawn and Leaf Garden Bag with Reinforced Carry Handles | Pop up Garbage Can with Self Standing design (Pack of 1, Blue) : Patio, Lawn & Garden

·        24” x 24” x ½” thick plywood

·        (2) 2” x 4” x 24” treated lumber (base footings)

·        1” x 1 ½” treated lumber (midline bracing piece) 

B.     PVC Pipe

·        (2) 1” diameter x 10 ft. standard PVC pipe

·        (4) 3-Way PVC Elbow Filling (1”)

12Pack 3-Way PVC Fittings,1" Elbow Fittings for Build Heavy Duty PVC Furniture, Grade SCH40 3-Way PVC Elbow Side Outlet Tees, 90 Degree PVC Corner Elbow Fitting for Greenhouse Frame Tent Connections - - Amazon.com

C.     Sign Holder

·        16” x 23” x 1/8” thick plywood

·        (2) 1 x 1 ½” treated wood (sign holder braces)

D.     Assembly

·        (8) 4” White Ball Bungee Cords

Amazon.com: Ball Bungee Cords 4 Inch,50 PCS White Tarp Bungee Balls Heavy Duty Canopy Tarp Tie Cords for Camping, Shelter ,Cargo,Projector Screen,Tent Poles with UV Resistant : Tools & Home Improvement

·        (8) ½” Solid Brass Grommets

Amazon.com: General Tools 1261-4 1/2-Inch Grommet Refill, 12 Sets : Industrial & Scientific

E.      Misc.

·        #8 x 1 5/8” deck screws

·        #8 x 2” deck screws

·        1” brads for air gun

The wood base is made from a half inch piece of plywood reinforced with treated 2” x 4” lumber. The plywood is cut to a dimension of 24” x 24” square. Two pieces of 2” x 4” lumber are cut to 24” lengths. These pieces are mounted on the underside of the plywood flush with any two opposite sides using wood glue and #8 deck screws. I used C-clamps to hold these pieces in their proper orientation while I placed the screws. I decided on treated lumber because these “feet” pieces could potentially be in contact with the ground for an extended period of time if they are placed at an outdoor event. The center bracing piece is made by cutting the 2” x 4” stock in half so it is approximately 1 ½” wide. This piece is then cut to about 17” long to fit perpendicular to the two “feet” pieces at the midline. This piece is also glued and screwed in place after being clamped. Put the base to the side for a while to let the wood glue set up.

Once the glue is set, loosen all the C-clamps and set them aside. Next, we need to place the holes in the base to accept the PVC pipes that will be used to support the DuraSack. Remember, the bag measures 20” x 20” on its bottom so a 20” square is measured out on the top of the base being equidistant from all sides. To determine the size drill bit to use we must measure the outside diameter of the 1” internal diameter PVC pipe. It turns out the outside diameter is 1.31 inches. The closest Forstner bit made to this diameter is a 1 3/8” bit. This is a decimal equivalent to 1.375 inches. Using this bit will give a slight clearance for the PVC pipe legs to fit into the base. Hence, at the four corners of the base, 1 3/8” holes are placed to a depth of 1 ¼”.

Once all the holes are drilled, the base is painted a bright red and set aside to dry.

As stated before, the support frame for the collection sack is made from 1” internal diameter PVC pipe available at any hardware store. These pipes are sold in 10 feet lengths. Two 10 feet pieces are needed. Use a miter saw to cut 4 pieces to 30 ½” lengths for the corner posts. Next, cut 4 pieces to 19 ½” lengths for the top cross-members.

Once all the pieces have been cut, place a 3-Way PVC Elbow fitting on each 30 1/2” leg piece by hammering it in place. The fitting will stay on quit well with the help of friction since the diameters match up very close.

Two 30 ½” frame legs with the attached 3-way elbow are laid flat across your workbench. PVC primer and glue are used to glue one 19 ½” cross-member between the two opposing legs. Make sure the two legs are lying flat across your workbench. Once the glue has set lay this flat frame section to the side. Repeat the above step with the remaining two support legs and another cross-member.

The two remaining cross-members will not be glued in. We want these cross-members to be easily placed and disassembled from the 3-way elbows, so the ends are sanded and beveled to achieve a little bit of clearance (see photo). A little dab of lubricant will also be applied during final assembly on these two cross-members that connect the two flat frame sections we just fabricated. 

Almost as an afterthought, I realized some signage would have to be attached to the portable donation box giving information on the organization and what the donations are being collected for. I realized attaching the sign to the collapsible DuraSack may not be the most ideal situation. I didn’t think tape would work that well.

So, a wooden sign mount was fitted to one glued up flat frame section. To keep the weight down, the sign was made from 1/8” thick plywood that was reinforced on the top and bottom.

1” x 1 ½” pine wood braces were measured to fit between the two PVC legs. The braces were cut to fit the outside diameter of the legs. The inside distance was measured to be almost 20”. The circular outline was traced on the braces and cut to fit using a band saw with a thin blade mounted on it.

Once the top and bottom braces were finished, they were attached to the legs with a #8 x 2” wood screws. The two sign braces were attached to be 16” apart to their outside edges. A hole was drilled through the PVC pipe leg and countersunk so the head of the screw would be flush to the outside of the stand leg for each end of the braces.

Next, the 1/8” thick plywood was attached with wood glue and 1” brad nails. The height of the plywood was 16” and the width was 23”. The sign was painted white to match the legs and allowed to dry.

I needed a way to secure the top of the DuraSack to the 1” PVC pipe cross-members to keep it from sagging and losing its shape as donations are placed. The easiest solution was to add ½” grommets to the top seam of the DuraSack. These holes would be used to thread small bungee cords through to secure to the PVC frame cross-members.

Two grommets, evenly spaced, were placed on each side of the DuraSack. A manual Grommet Tool Kit was used. This kit was sold by General Tools and available on Amazon. 

Assembly is very easy and straight forward. Once a location for the collection “box” has been agreed upon, the red base is placed on the floor or if outside, on an even area of ground. Next, the two preassembled frame pieces are placed in the four receiving holes on the base. The two remaining PVC cross-members are lubricated on their ends (i.e. Vaseline, silicone spray) and placed between the two preassembled frame members. The lubricant will aid in disassembling the frame.

All that is left is to unfold the DuraSack inside the PVC frame with it resting on the wooden base. The top of the DuraSack is secured to the cross-members with the 4” ball bungee cords. Last, the OSOT-America sign explaining the need and use of the donations is secured to the wooden sign mount with thumbtacks or clear tape. Please see the completed food collection “box” in the attached photos.