ORGANIZING AND
OPERATING
A
FOOD PANTRY
A Resource Provided by the Mississippi Food
Network Agency Relations Department
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. GETTING STARTED
What is a food pantry? 3
Does you community need a food pantry? 3
Community Support 4
Developing a Service Plan 5
Non-Profit Status
6
II. ACQUIRING FOOD
Food Sources in your Community 7
Food Drives 7
Food Drives V. Fund Drives 9
Food Storage 9
III. BUILDING A FINANCIAL BASE
Budgeting
10
Fundraising 10
IV. VOLUNTEERS
Recruiting Volunteers 13
V. PANTRY OPERATIONS
Spreading the Word 14
Intake 15
Interviews and Referrals
16
Distribution Options: Pre -packing and Client Choice
17-18
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I. GETTING STARTED
WHAT IS A FOOD PANTRY?
A food pantry is a community-based program that collects and safely
stores food and household products for free distribution to low-income and
needy members of the community.
DOES YOU COMMUNITY NEED A FOOD PANTRY?
Look closely at the particular needs and current resources in your
community. Are there residents lacking the resources to pro vide enough food
for their households? If so, organizing a pantry may be a good way to help
provide them with food.
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Before you decide to start your own pantry, call the Food Bank and other
local organizations to see what services already exist in your community. Many
of these organizations would benefit greatly by joining volunteer forces and
resources rather than duplicating services of a new agency in the community. It
is also a good idea to visit or volunteer at an existing agency in order to learn
more about what is already being done.
If, after evaluating the need and existing services in your community, you
have determined that a establishing a food pantry is a service in demand, it’s
time to get started! This handbook can be used as a basic guide to help you
generate ideas and develop your vision. Please don’t hesitate to call the MS
Food Network Agency Relations Department at 601-973-7085 or 601-973-
7090 with any further questions you may have. We are always willing to
assist and support any agency that shares our commitment to end hunger.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
The first thing you will need to start a food pantry is the support of people
in your community. It is impossible to build a f ood pantry alone. You will need
the experience of others, their diversity of ideas, volunteer support, financial
resources, and referrals in order to successfully serve those in need in your
community. In particular, seek out input and assistance from:
People In Need Of Food: No one can give you a better idea of the
particular
services needed in your community than those that need it most. Seek
out these
people’s insights, inputs, and ideas about how you would be able to help
best! I
It may not be the answer you have thought of!
Social Service Agencies: Individuals working in social services are
often
able to offer an awareness of particular community needs, concerns that
make
them willing to help, and experience to provide valuable input and
guidance
about services in demand in your particular community.
Community Organizations: Members of community clubs or groups,
churches
and/or fraternal organizations are great resources for volunteers.
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Remember:
without a stable volunteer base, it is extremely difficult to keep your
pantry
in operation!
From this group of people, call together a meeting to form an organizing
committee. You need a core group (4-15 people) to share responsibilities for
food pantry planning and accept responsibilities. During your first meeting,
make sure the following topics are discussed. This will help determine your
direction, make sure people know th eir responsibilities, and ensure all committee
members are on the same page:
Determine who will accept responsibility for the primary positions of
Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Make sure that everybody agrees on what a food pantry is.
Discuss the basic function of immediate aid. Determine other community
agencies that may be able to offer related services, su ch as counseling, Food
Stamp and WIC advocacy, and Health services. Maintain a list of agencies your
food pantry can work with, and exchange referrals to and from.
Build a mission statement that incorporates your vision of the pantry ’s
purpose,
your commitment to those you serve, and your conception of what types
of
services may be necessities in immediate aid. A mission statement is a
written
policy that usually includes an equal opportunity statement such as: “It is
our
policy to provide equal assistance to all qualified persons without
discrimination
on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, veteran ’s
status, sexual orientation or disability.”
Networking with agencies and people in community from the start will
build the community’s vested interest in the success of the pantry. This will help
in laying the groundwork for future volunteer recruitment and ex change of
information and resources with other agencies.
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DEVELOPING A SERVICE PLAN
Once you have formed an organizing committee and agree on your
purpose, it is time to determine the scope of the operation and other support
details. Some of the basic questions you should consider are:
What geographic area will be served?
Who will be served?
Where will the pantry be located?
How often will assistance be provided?
Who will do the work?
What types of food do we want to provide?
How will we acquire products/resources to keep the food pantry open?
When you are making these decisions, keep in mind the particular needs of your
prospective clients and how your agency could bes t meet those needs. For
instance, while it may be intuitive to serve a large geographic area, many
prospective clients do not h ave reliable transportation. Try to limit your
geographic area to the most needy area, or keep it in a central location that is
easy to access without a vehicle. Every possible effort should be made to treat
food recipients with dignity and respect.
NON-PROFIT STATUS
As soon as possible, attempt to secure non -profit status for your agency.
The benefits of being a non -profit agency include:
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Increased donor incentive with tax deduction opportunities.
Sales tax exemption when purchasing equipment and supplies.
Eligibility for Food Bank membership.
Eligibility for various grants and other support.
You may contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at 1 -800-TAX-FORM to
request an “Application for Recognition of Exemption” un der Section 501c(3).
Note: Working under the sponsorship of an existing non-profit
organization such as a church or social service organization, is another
method of obtaining non-profit status. In this case, a sponsor letter with a
copy of their 501c(3) designation is sufficient.
II. ACQUIRING FOOD
FOOD SOURCES IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Where are you going to get an adequate and varied supply of food? In
addition to utilizing the Food Bank, you may also want to pursue donated
products in your own community. Meet with storeowners and managers to let
them know who you are, and ask for their assistance. In particular, ask for
donations from:
Restaurants
Bakeries
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FOOD STORAGE
Convenience Stores
Grocery Stores
Drug Stores
Many of these establishments throw
away hundreds of pounds of damaged or
day-old products each week that could
be utilized by pa ntry patrons. You may also be able to arrange discounts on
large purchases of items that are generally difficult to come by, su ch as diapers
or protein.
FOOD DRIVES
Food Drives are another good way to secure a variety of items for your
pantry while simultaneously cultivating community awaren ess. Food drives give
everyone in the community an opportunity to learn about your agency and feel
good about helping to feed t he hungry. It is also an opportunity for you to
request certain difficult -to-acquire items such as protein -rich foods and personal
hygiene products.
In order for your food drive to be successful, people need to know about
it. The easiest way for a small agency to spread the work about an upcoming
food drive is to distribute flyers. Your flyer should request specific items and
include information abo ut your agency so that people know where and when to
donate. Distribution ideas or food drive flyers include:
Community Schools: Many schools are more than willing to participate in
service projects such as food drives. Sending flyers o r calling a school to
provide them information on your agency and current drive is an easy way
of getting publicity and attentio n.
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Use as try liners in cafeterias and fast food restaurants.
Hand out in shopping malls and street corners.
Use as inserts in local publications or church bulletins.
Post in the local library and have them place a box for donations.
Supermarkets. Ask the store manager if you can place a box for
donations near the front of the store. Make sure to post a brig ht-colored
flyer on the box to attract attention!
Other creative food drives ideas:
Choose an honorary chairperson/spokesperson for your food drive.
Approach a local celebrity/political figure and have him/her p ublicly
support your efforts by mentioning your agency at special events.
Develop and adopt-a-month program where civic organizations can select
a month where it is their responsibility to provide food to the pantry.
Get the theater involved. Ask local movie and/or performance theaters to
charge a certain amount of canned goods as admission f or one night.
Many well known musical groups also donate part of their profits to
charities in the cities that they perform in.
Create a name for your annual food drive. Names like “caring hands,”
“fishes and loaves,” etc. increase community awareness of hunger issues
and boost food donations.
Publicize and educate. Create t -shirts
FOOD DRIVES VS. FUND DRIVES
When your food pantry is able to purchase food at the Food Bank for
$0.16/pound, the cost effectiveness of fund drives over foo d drives becomes
self-evident. Here is one example: the Food Bank has cases of cereal available
that weigh approximately 10 po unds and contain 10 boxes of cereal in each.
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Your agency would contribute a shared maintenance fee of $1.60 for a case of
cereal, which translates to $0.19 per box. And individual person would pay
$3.20 for a single box at a grocery store to donate to your agency. As a cash
donation, that $3.20 would cover the handling fee for two cases (20 boxes) for
your agency. Also, that $3.20 could be recorded as a contribution and used as a
tax deduction by the donor.
Although food drives are not as cost effective as fund drives, they do
serve as a tool for raising awareness and building commu nity support around the
issue of hunger. The best practice for pantries would be to gradually combine
community fund drives with community food drive by informing the public of their
donation options.
The following are basic guidelines for storing food and grocery items as
recommended by the Department of Health.
Chose a storage space with locking doors and not outside entrance.
Store all grocery products away from walls and off the floor. Warehouse pallets
are available from the Food Bank free of charge.
Use freestanding shelves or leave space between items and the wall.
Protect products from moisture by selecting a dry, well-ventilated area.
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Store non-food items on separate shelving units from food.
Mark the date received on all cases of food and start a first-in, firs-out system.
Inspect all items. Do Not use any that are bulging, contaminated, or leaking.
Use non-toxic insect and rodent tapes and monitor them regularly.
Use thermometers and regularly monitor the temperature of refrigerators (35-45
degrees F) and freezers (-10-0 degrees F).
III. BUILDING A FINANCIAL BASE
BUDGETING
Along with the need for a facility and food comes the obvious need for
money. But before you start looking for sources of fund ing, you should develop
a budget to know your expenses and approximately how much you need.
First, consider basic operating expenses. Do you have any paid staff or
are they mainly volunteers? And what about telephone, utilities, transportation,
or contracted services such as printing and bookkeeping? Your budget should
take into account of these costs along with supplemental food purchases and
equipment like a refrigerator, a freezer, shelves, and a desk.
FUNDRAISING
Even the smallest pantry can raise money to cover operating expenses
and purchase additional food for distribution. Some ideas include:
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Applying for grants (state, federal, and private foundation). Most libraries
have
Foundation directories.
Applying for a United Way allocation.
Sponsoring fundraising events: The possibilities of fundraising events are
limited only by your imagination and energy. Some e xamples include
organizing community suppers, yard sales, bake sales, raffles, car
washes, and auctions.
One-Time or One-Item Contributions: This involves getting an individual,
organization, or business, to fund a single item for y our agency either on
a one-time basis (e.g. renovations, equipment, computers) or on an
ongoing basis (e.g. monthly phone or uti lity bill).
You may be amazed at what your agency could get donated if you make
yourselves known in your community and ask for what your nee d!
Monthly Contributions: This tactic involves getting businesses, churches,
clubs, or any other kind of organization to pledge a certain amount on a
monthly basis. For example, an office might sponsor a casual day once a
month where employees are able to “ dress down” for a five-dollar
donation that would then be contributed to your agency. Donations can
also be in-kind, wherein a group may come in to volunteer to stock
shelves or sponsor a food drive once a month.
It is extremely important to remember that all donations or contributions,
no matter how small must always be acknowledged either by a phone call
or written letter.
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IV. VOLUNTEERS
A. Volunteers are a valuable resource for many organizations, large and
small. It has been estimated that approximately 48% of all Americans
volunteer. These volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds —
retirees, minorities, young adults, college students, and even those who
are actively employed. As the planning of your pantry progresses, the
amount of work to be done will become overwhelming. As such, you will
need volunteers for many of the following activities:
B. Clerical: Interview clients, complete forms, and maintain financial
records.
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PRE-PACKING
C. Referral: Make referrals to other
services for client with more long -term needs.
D. Organizational: Plan events, ask for
donations of money and food, recruit and
schedule volunteers.
E. Physical: Load and unload food from trucks, clean and stock the storage
area, and pack food into boxes or bags to be distribute d to clients.
F. Creative: Make flyers and posters to advertise pantry help with fund
raising efforts.
G. These tasks easily break down into a dozen different jobs. The time
commitment required of your volunteers will vary depending on how many
people are available to share the work and how often your pantry
distributes food. Hiring or electing a volunteer c oordinator to organize the
overall effort can make things run a little smoother.
RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS
If you do not already have a list of potential volunteers to rely on, your
goal should be to recruit them as soon as possible. Some ideas on how to
recruit and manage volunteers include:
H. Make publicity appeals in the community.
Provide flexible hours and offer short -term possibilities.
Get staff members, current volunteers, and others to enlist friends, family
members, and colleagues.
Contact local colleges, many of which have community service
requirements for graduation.
I. Contact community organizations, such as church groups, fraternal
organizations, women’s clubs, etc. to see if they would be willing to
donate their time.
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CLIENT CHOICE
It is important to have regular volunteer meetings in order to share success
stories, voice concerns, and celebrate group effort s. This will keep volunteer
morale high! Your primar y goal is to ensure that everyone is working together
happily and effectively. Also, a volunteer appreciation day or event help s to
boost morale and remind volunteers that their hard work and dedication is a
valuable asset to your agency.
V. PANTRY OPERATIONS
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SPREADING THE WORD
Generally speaking, word of mouth is the best form of advertisement. If
your pantry treats people with respect and provides th em with a variety of food
and non-food items as well as information about other services available, others
will soon find out.
In addition, flyers are a great tool to publicize your pantry. Make sure to
include on your flyer:
The pantry’s location.
What resources you provide.
When you are open.
One way to do this is by adding your mission statement. A mission statement is
a written policy that outlines all of the above information and usually includes an
equal opportunity statement such as, “It is our policy to provide equal assistance
to all qualified persons without discrimination on the basis of race; color; religion;
gender; age; national origin; sexual orientation; or disability.” Your mission
statement should be posted at the pantry where everyone can read it. A copy
should also be given to your volunteers or any social service agencies that may
refer people to you.
Flyers can be posted in prominent places in the community such as social
services offices, community centers, recreation center s, churches, schools, post
offices, and supermarkets.
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INTAKE
One way to facilitate the record -keeping process is to create a client in -
take interview form. Intake forms should be confidential and kept on file at your
agency. They should include the following information:
Name
Age of all household members
Mailing Address and Telephone Number
Client’s Other Needs and Possible Referrals
Client’s Signature
Another good tool to have is a distribution log to keep track of every person who
visits your pantry on any given day. A distri bution log should include:
Date
Client’s Name
Number of Children in Household (0 -17)
Adults in Household (18 -64)
Elderly in Household (65+)
Bag Size
Whether or Not they are New at the Agency
You will be surprised how useful it is to simply record the number of visits a
person makes and how many people are in his/her f amily.
Three months later you will be able to review your record to determine your
service levels, the demographics of those in need in your community, and other
information which will help you to determine how much food you will need to
maintain your pantry’s services.
Statistics of this sort can also be used in a report or newsletter to draw
support from you community. Statistics document the needs and move people to
act. Additionally, monthly statistical reports are also a requirement of the MS
Food Network in order to keep track of the food distributed. These reports also
help to generate hunger statistics for The State of Mississippi.
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INTERVIEWS AND REFERRALS
Once you have established a method of intake and record keeping, you
will want to set up an interviewing process so that you ca n determine what each
new client needs and how you can help them. Since your pantry may be the first
place they have ask for help, you want to be thoughtful as well as thorough.
Ensure your patrons that all information is kept confidential and make sure you
treat each individual with the dignity and respect they deserve.
When you are interviewing a new client, you should find out if they have
any immediate needs other than food. Start with issue s like whether or not they
are receiving Food Stamps or WIC and work toward other areas like:
Domestic Violence Services
Housing/Utilities Assistance
Employment/Training Assistance
Education/Literacy Needs
Substance Abuse Counseling
There with a minimal amount of research, you ’ll be able to access County/City
agencies to help with these issues.
PLEASE NOTE: A simple way to inform clients about services without
feeling intrusive is to create a fact sheet of local agencies that provide
assistance in the above-mentioned areas. These can be handed out to clients
or placed in their bags/boxes.
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DISTRIBUTION OPTIONS
There are two primary methods of distributing food to clients, including
pre-packing bags/boxes or having clients “shop” for it em they need. Each
method has its pros and cons.
The “pre-packing method” is more practical on numerous levels.
Primarily, it allows you to provide well -balanced and nutritiou s meals to those in
need, by ensuring that they are given a variety of items containing protein,
carbohydrates, fruits and veget ables, dairy, and fiber. Also, it will help ensure
that there is enough available for each patron to receive what he or she wan ts
and allow you to keep track of your inventory and determine what items you will
need to keep your pantry stocked. To prevent food waste, request that clients
redonate items that they won’t use. In addition, the pre -packing method allows
you to best utilize minimal space in which most pantries are locked. Please not
that the most popular option is the “three day bag.”
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The “shopping method” or “client choice method” is beneficial because it
allows for greater empowerment of clients; allows you to meet clients ’ special
needs, and avoids distribution of unwanted items. There are several different
types of client choice models from which to choose. If you choose this method,
opt for the one that works best for you.
1. Balanced Menu Package – The pantry attempts to stock a variety of foods
from each of the five (5) food groups. Label and color -code each shelf
with the proper food group. Post a chart that suggests how many items
from each food group would create a balanced package.
2. Client “shops” from list of available goods – Pantry acquires the best and
most food it can from the Food Bank and elsewhere and itemizes what is
available on a list provide d as they arrive to pick up food. Clients indicate
on the list what of the available items they want, and pantry assembles
their bag from that list.
3. Fixed Menu Plus “Grab Bag” – Pantry distributes its traditional fixed
standardized food box, then also displays varieties of different items from
the pantry permitting the client to take limited (one bag, six items, etc.)
amounts of those goods or any odds and ends which find their w ay into
the pantry.
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