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…
Food Bank News
Building off the success of a pilot, Food Bank of the Rockies is increasing its commitment to providing culturally relevant food to ethnic groups. Its Culturally Responsive Food Initiative, started in August 2020 as a pilot in eight counties, is now expanding to include all 53 counties in the food…
How can charities efficiently steward their telephone fundraising campaign, while ensuring they are accurately represented? What must change to lower donor complaints? How can a script more personally connect with donors? Such questions led Gateway Communications founders, Tim Nashif and Mike White, to evaluate the telephone fundraising methods of that…
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…
What’s the best way to strengthen SNAP? The sprawling program, which cost $113 billion in 2021 – nearly double the $60 billion spent in pre-pandemic 2019 – is guided by a vast set of rules and requirements. These stipulations ultimately dictate how many people are served by the program and…
Feed More is Central Virginia’s hunger-relief organization, supporting over 400 agencies and programs with its food bank, children’s feeding and Meals on Wheels programs. Historically, the relationship between the food bank and its partners was largely compliance-oriented and lacking in two-way communication. Feed More felt shifting to a capacity-focused relationship…
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…
The Greater Boston Food Bank has embarked on a three-year, $5-million plan to transform itself into a unified, digital-first organization that emphasizes top-notch service. Dubbed “Project Everest,” the initiative will seek to make the food bank’s technology operations more efficient, while creating better experiences for four key stakeholder groups: its…
A new food program introduced by the USDA draws on lessons learned from the Farmers to Families Food Box program to create an assistance program unlike any other in the hunger relief community. The traditional aims of USDA food programs – nutrition assistance and food security – are not the…