Around 2018, Scott Rumpsa started noticing that a majority of people coming to the food pantry and resource center that he runs had steady incomes. But higher rents and living expenses were outpacing their low-wage jobs and Social Security payments, making them regulars at the pantry. It was a contrast…
Posts published in “Food Pantries”
The connection between poor mental health and food insecurity comes as no surprise to the people who run Chicago-based Lakeview Pantry. While the pandemic has highlighted the link between food insecurity and mental health, Lakeview has been addressing the issue since as far back as 2017, when it began offering…
Like a farmer’s market on wheels, mobile food markets have emerged in recent years as handy solutions for organizations seeking to bring fresh produce to vulnerable populations. Yet the pantries are not without their Achilles’ heels, as organizations have sometimes struggled to find the appropriate mix of product, pricing, location…
Earlier this year, Food Outreach, a St. Louis-based provider of medically tailored food and meals, reached out to a local bakery with the idea of creating a special artisan bread loaf that would enhance the health of its immune-compromised clients. Weeks of building and perfecting a recipe resulted in a…
The simplest form of client choice in food banking is to let clients pick the food they’d like to take home, as if in a grocery store. At Northern Illinois Food Bank, client choice encompasses much more. The food bank, which is the third largest in Illinois with $129 million…
We have operated a small food pantry in our rural upstate New York community for the past 12 years. Like many of you, we have a volunteer staff and a small budget provided by government grants and community donations. Very close to 100% of our budget goes directly toward the…
Over the past year or so, a growing number of food banks have experimented with opening one or two of their own food pantries as a way of expanding capacity. It’s a strategy that Long Island Cares has been pursuing with success for more than a decade. This month, the…
Just as grocery stores are making it possible for Americans to do more of their shopping online through apps like Instacart and FreshDirect, so too are food pantries embracing digital choice. While some pantries had begun experimenting with online ordering for clients before Covid-19, others made the switch as a way…
Add two more food banks to the list of those opening their own model food pantries. Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado and East Texas Food Bank both recently opened distribution outlets that incorporate food-pantry best practices. The pantries operate in a supermarket style, allowing clients to pick…