Better together. It’s a phrase the three leaders of the Orange County Hunger Alliance like to use. Not just a description, it’s their operating principle. The Alliance unites Orange County, California’s three leading hunger relief organizations — Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County; Orange County Food Bank, and Abound…
Posts published in “Strategy”
More food banks are seeking to expand their missions beyond food distribution to include community engagement – and they have the infrastructure to prove it. The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Nourishing Hope of Chicago are among the organizations that have recently unveiled space that positions them to more…
After months of making do with far fewer volunteer resources during the pandemic, hunger relief organizations are getting creative as they work to reinvigorate their volunteer ranks. Some are finding value in relying on clients as volunteers. Others are finding ways to engage highly skilled workers for special projects. And…
When Susannah Morgan started working in hunger relief 26 years ago, she believed that getting more food to more people was the answer to eliminating hunger. Now she understands the problem of hunger differently – and it’s changing everything about the way she approaches her job as CEO of Oregon…
These days, it is hard to find a food bank that is not making adjustments to pay or thinking about it, especially for lower-wage workers. Food banks across the country and in Canada report undertaking compensation studies and/or instituting wage increases to ensure employees are getting fair pay and can…
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…
Taking a page from the startup world, a growing number of food banks are carving out entrepreneurial teams and tasking them with exploring new, experimental ways to eradicate hunger. Described variously as innovation labs, research institutes or strategy groups, the independent units recognize that traditional methods of addressing hunger have…
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…
Food banks often do more than basic food distribution by offering programs that help people gain a foothold out of poverty. Workforce training, financial literacy classes and access to benefits all fall within this category. Now, San Antonio Food Bank is expanding even further the definition of what a food…