With uncertainty riding high these days, many food banks are focused on the basic task of pushing out more food through their pantry networks. At the same time, some are also seeing the value of building up their pantry networks in search of longer-term solutions to food insecurity. Capacity building…
Posts published in “Food Pantries”
Houston Food Bank has found an unconventional way to improve the experiences of pantry clients by tapping mystery shoppers, a tactic typically used in retail. With its Neighbor Experience Initiative, the food bank deployed mystery shoppers to report back on their in-person interactions at several pantries. Through the lens of…
How does a food pantry serve 3,000 more people and distribute 113,000 more pounds of food, yet reduce its overall costs by one-third? For Minneapolis-based NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center’s Community Food Shelf, it started with jelly – and a lot of data. NorthPoint is a choice pantry that regularly…
Food banks are getting increasingly creative about where they put new distribution outlets. In a bid to expand their reach, especially into underserved areas, food banks are making use of farms, libraries, county clerk offices, shopping malls, and even horse racetracks as food distribution points. This attempt to meet people…
At higher education institutions, innovation often happens beyond the classroom, and that’s especially true when it comes to college food pantries. Because of the mostly young demographic being served, high-tech practices like online ordering and scheduled pickups are practically a given at college pantries. College pantries are also leading the…
Like many food pantries, Interfaith Food Pantry Network of Morris Plains, N.J., turned to drive-through distribution during the pandemic. While the drive-throughs were efficient, the pantry’s interactions with clients started to feel hollow to Carolyn Lake, Executive Director. Some clients tried to convey their food preferences as they rolled on…
Taking a page from meal kit services like Blue Apron and HelloFresh, some hunger relief organizations are making basic versions of the kits available to clients. The kits fulfill multiple roles, offering variety and convenience to clients, as well as a novel engagement experience for volunteers. The bare-bones meal kits…
It’s fair to say that running a food pantry, even as a volunteer, is a time-consuming job, making it difficult to plan beyond the immediate tasks at hand. But it’s also evident that a new spirit of collaboration between front-line emergency food providers is percolating. Sharing information, establishing a unified…
Food banks have long said that they’re only as good as their pantry networks, and lately, they’ve been backing up that sentiment with intention. Fueled partly by Covid-era support, food banks have been growing the capacity of their pantries through a wide range of grant-making activities. Now, many are at…