When demand for charitable food ratcheted up in the early stages of the pandemic, San Diego Food Bank responded like many of its peers — with mass distributions aimed at getting food to hundreds or even thousands of people at a time. But the results of those efforts did not…
Posts published in “Food Pantries”
Hotlines, text services and even navigation apps are among the tools food banks are using to better connect people to their neighborhood pantries during the pandemic. The tools go beyond the basic pantry locators typically found on many websites, and often take advantage of the accessibility mobile technology offers. In…
The results of a three-year study published this spring in the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition are a reminder that even as pantries focus on distributing emergency food during the pandemic, there is value in connecting clients to social services that go beyond food. The study of 484 people…
As a former chef and restaurant owner, Greg Silverman knows a thing or two about how to get the best food at the best price. That knowledge helped him reduce by nearly 20% the cost of purchasing food for the mega-pantry he runs and three other pantries, all in New…
In an odd coincidence, there are about as many people in America who garden (42 million) as are food-insecure (37.2 million). That works out well for AmpleHarvest.org, a website that seeks to match the abundance of produce grown by home gardeners with local food pantries that could use it. So…
With a small financial commitment and the help of about a dozen volunteers, a food pantry in Oregon is finding it’s not so hard to make a big difference in the lives of the homebound in its community. A program to deliver food once a month to elderly and disabled…
Following a three-year pilot, the Kelly Center for Hunger Relief in El Paso, Texas, is moving full steam ahead on a program to help clients decrease their reliance on charitable food and move toward greater self-sufficiency. With many moving parts, the program represents a large commitment of resources and time…
When Stephen Giuliano became Executive Director of Operation Sharing in Ontario, Canada, he determined that the best way to address hunger in his community was to shut down the food pantry. In its place is a program, now in its 15th year, in which clients use food cards loaded with…
Data and automation are not exactly dirty words at food pantries, but they are far from commonplace. A Des Moines food pantry network, however, is embracing both to help it nudge clients toward healthier options and also energize its advocacy efforts. Like many food pantries, the Des Moines Area Religious…