Rhode Island Community Food Bank Member Agency Toolkit · 8. Set up your agency to accommodate...

Rhode Island Community Food Bank

Member Agency

ToolkitToolkitThis toolkit is a guide of best practices for local

food assistance programs. It was developed to

help Food Bank agencies build and sustain their

programs.

Updated June 2011

The toolkit is a result of the efforts of a

dedicated group of member agency staff and

volunteers and we will continue to update it

as new ideas and strategies are shared.as new ideas and strategies are shared.

4 major areas:

1. Resourcing Your Agency with Food & Funds

2. Setting Program Policies

3. Experiences from the Field3. Experiences from the Field

4. The “Best of the Best”

Resourcing Your Agency

with Food and FundsFunding sourcesFunding sources

�Special Events

�Food Drives

�Soliciting Donations

�Grants & Monetary Opportunities

Resourcing Your Agency Special Events

“Souper” Bowl SundayThere are two ways to do this event.

1.Sylvia Sabatini, Food Pantry Coordinator, SVDP St. Philip’s, Greenville.

Email: [email protected]

Sylvia’s program gleans $1,500-$1,900 each year!

1. Use large soup pots to collect dollars and cents on Super Bowl Sunday.

2. Ask your volunteers to stand at the doors of the parish

3.

Host a “Canstruction” event. Susan Gustaitis, Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale


Contact a local school and challenge each classroom to build a construction out of canned goods.

One can per child to help build it! Offer to judge the event.

4.2. Ask your volunteers to stand at the doors of the parish

and collect the money in their bowls as people exit.

3. Dress up the bowls with your food program’s information or logo or use “Souper Bowl” logos, and ask volunteers to dress up in aprons.

2.Lorraine Burns, Blessed Sacrament’s St. Teresa of Avila Food Pantry,

Providence. Email: [email protected]

Lorraine’s program gleans HUNDREDS of cans each year!

1. Visit CCD and other religion classes a month or two prior to Souper Bowl Sunday and ask the students to raise cans of soup for your program.

2. Procure a collection spot at the school or church and designate a pick up date.

3. It’s a great idea to have a visual goal to aim for, such as a thermometer to success.

4.

Host a “Build a Structure” event using toilet paper.

Michele Baker, Bridges Group Home Food Center, Jamestown

Email:[email protected]

Same theme as above, but instead of canned goods, ask each child to bring in a roll of Scotts toilet

paper to build their construction.

Resourcing Your Agency Food Drives

6.

Conduct themed food drives

at your local church. Elizabeth O’Dea, The Poverello Center, Providence.


Ask for items with themes:

“Pasta Dinner”

5.

Top 10 Lists

Determine what the Top 10 most needed items are at your program and ask for those items exclusively when you hold

food drives. This way, you do not receive items that you do not need.

Some of our programs conduct the following “Pasta Dinner”

“Personal Care Items”

“Protein week: Tuna or

Peanut Butter”

“Canned Vegetables

Sunday”.

Some of our programs conduct the following “Top 10” food drive themes:

Holiday Top 10

Toiletry Top 10

Back-to-School Top 10

Ten “Most Wanted” Items

Think of highly-visibly locations to post a Top 10 poster such as community

centers, churches, and schools.

Resourcing Your Agency Soliciting Donations

7.

Tap In To Rotary Clubs

Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than

1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders.

Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide

humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all

vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to

advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the

8.

Set up your agency to accommodate party donations.

Susan Gustaitis, Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale. Email: [email protected]

Elizabeth O’Dea, The Poverello Center, Providence


Offer flyers or promo items to help the

host promote the idea!

Kids parties: “Bring a small gift and a food advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the

improvement of health, the support of education, and the

alleviation of poverty.

The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely

by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the

Foundation who share its vision of a better world.

The Rotary Foundation has grant opportunities and more!

Contact one in your area to see if you can come and speak to

them about what your organization does and how they can help!

For more details, visit: http://www.rotary.org

Kids parties: “Bring a small gift and a food

donation for NAME OF AGENCY”.

Adult birthday parties: “Instead of gifts, please

bring a personal care item to donate to NAME

OF AGENCY”.

• Have post cards or acknowledgement

cards on hand to give to the party host to use as

thank-you’s.

• Create “gift cards”, acknowledgement

letters, or “gift certificates” as a gift idea.

The certificate may read, “A gift of $XX was

made in your name to the NAME OF AGENCY”.

Resourcing Your Agency Grants & Monetary Opportunities

9.

New Roots Providence

New Roots Providence gives faith and community organizations the support they need to sustain their

work and strengthen their communities.

They do this by providing grants, high-quality training, and technical assistance, and by encouraging

10.

Feinstein Challenge1 Million Giveaway to Fight Hunger

Since 1998, the Alan Shawn Feinstein Foundation of Rhode Island has

been helping food banks, emergency food programs, and other

non-profit anti-hunger organizations boost their fundraising

efforts through its annual Feinstein Million Dollar Challenge. If

more than $1 million is raised in response to the Challenge, the technical assistance, and by encouraging communication among organizations, helping them work together to provide quality services and create

lasting change.

New Roots offers free training for employees and/or volunteers of non-profit organizations on a monthly

basis. Trainings include Grant Writing, Program Evaluation, Mission, Vision & Purpose, and other key topics based on requests they get from community

organizations throughout the state.

For more information go to:

http://newrootsprovidence.org

And for grant info go to: http://newrootsprovidence.org/grants

more than $1 million is raised in response to the Challenge, the

Feinstein Foundation will divide its own $1 million

proportionately between all non-profit anti-hunger groups that

report the funds that they raise through the challenge between

March 1 and April 30, of each given year.

Agencies interested in participating in

this Challenge must raise funds in March and April,

then fill out a simple report the first week of May stating how

much money their agency raised from telling their donors about this

challenge.

Agencies must also include information about how they raised the

money (for example, include a copy of the agency’s mailing

piece, flyer, newsletter and copies of any newspaper stories

about your challenge),along with a copy of the

agency’s Federal Tax exempt form (501C3).

For details, visit http://www.feinsteinfoundation.org

Resourcing Your Agency Grants & Monetary Opportunities

11.

Grant Collaborations

If you think your food assistance program is too small to write grants to support it, you can consider

submitting a collaborative grant proposal with several food pantries or other service organizations

in your community.

12.RI Foundation

Basic Human Needs Grants

Basic Human Needs Grants support community agencies that provide emergency assistance to Rhode Islanders most in need. Grants of up to $5,000 are awarded to community-based programs that provide food, clothing, housing, prescription, and utility assistance. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, and grant decisions are usually made within 4-8 weeks.in your community.

For example, in Woonsocket, a group of food pantries - staffed almost exclusively by volunteers -work together to submit an annual proposal to the Rhode Island Foundation under their Basic Needs

Small Grants program. They divide the grant funds among each pantry based on the numbers of

people served each month at each pantry. Then each pantry uses their allocation of funds to

purchase meat, eggs, and other protein items. Each year, a different pantry accepts the role of “lead

agency” for the grant, taking on the responsibility for submitting the proposal, disbursing the funds,

and collecting the necessary receipts and information to submit the final report once the

grant funds are spent.

are usually made within 4-8 weeks.

Eligibility Organizations can receive one Basic Human Needs Grant per calendar year, and many organizations receive annual grants. Please note that a pre-application meeting is not required.

Application informationTo be considered for a Basic Human Needs Grant, you will need:Your organization's employer identification number (EIN) or that of your fiscal agent, if you are not a a 501(c)A project budget in electronic format to upload into your application.An electronic copy of your 501(c) determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service to upload into your application, if you have not received previous funding from The Rhode Island Foundation.

Questions?Call or email Inés Merchán, grant programs officer, (401) 427-4034.

Setting Program PoliciesThe “framework” of your program:

�Registration forms

�Sample forms

�USDA Commodities Program

�Food safety practices

�Food assistance policies (confidentiality, eligibility

requirements)

�Distribution hours

Setting Program PoliciesRegistration & Sample Forms

Client registration is an important part of a well-run agency. Here are examples of client registration forms that help agencies track

their statistics accurately. Call the Food Bank for full copies.

Client Registration -- for ________________________

Head of Household (HH): Household Language:

Last name: First:

Street & Apt.#

City: State: Zip:

-- --

MONTH:

VISITS

FOR

MONTH

Head of Household Name Children Adults Elderly Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5

13. 14.

Phone:-- --

Total in household: Adults 18-64 Children <18 Elderly 65+

Household members (list HH first):

First & Last Name M/F Age

DO

B Relationship to HH

1. ___ / ___/ _______

2. ___ / ___/ _______

3. ___ / ___/ _______

4. ___ / ___/ _______

5. ___ / ___/ _______

6 ___ / ___/ _______

7 ___ / ___/ _______

8 ___ / ___/ _______

(list others on the back of this form)

Reason for seeking food assistance:

________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

_____

__________________________________________________________________________________________

_____

Do you receive SNAP benefits:___________

Pantry visit dates: Totals:

Setting Program PoliciesSample Forms

15.

Program Guidelines for

Volunteers, Staff and ClientsMany programs find it helpful to post these guidelines and/or have

new clients sign off on them when they register.

SAMPLE ONE:

Our volunteers are committed to serving God, and through Him we work to support this community.Our volunteers believe in the goals and purpose of (NAME OF FOOD PANTRY) and are not paid to provide the work that they do.

SAMPLE TWO:

Guiding Principles and Standards of (NAME OF FOOD PANTRY)

1. We nurture a safe environment for both our clients and

volunteers.

a. Our clients and volunteers do not arrive under the influence of

drugs or alcohol. Together, we create a comfortable food pantry

environment.

2. We treat one another with respect. PANTRY) and are not paid to provide the work that they do.We acknowledge and thank them for their hard work and dedication.

Guiding Principles and Standards of (NAME OF FOOD PANTRY)

1. We nurture a safe environment for both our guests and volunteers.a. Our guests and volunteers do not arrive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.b. Together, we create a comfortable food service environment.

2. We treat one another with respect. a. We use respectful language and respect the hard work of our staff of volunteers.b. We respect the cultural diversity of our neighborhood.c. We respect the physical building both outside and inside by keeping it clean.

3. We are open to questions and feedback from our guestsabout how this program is working. Please speak to (POINT PERSON) if you have suggestions or feedback to provide to us.

Thank you for helping to make (FOOD PANTRY) a welcoming and safe haven for our neighbors.

2. We treat one another with respect.

a. We use respectful language and respect the hard work of our

staff and volunteers.

b. We respect the cultural diversity of our neighborhood.

c. We respect the physical building both outside and inside by

keeping it clean.

3. We are open to questions and feedback from our guests

about how this program is working. Please speak to (POINT

PERSON) if you have suggestions or feedback to provide to us.

Thank you for helping to make (FOOD PANTRY) a welcoming and

safe haven for our neighbors.

Setting Program PoliciesUSDA Commodities Program16.

USDA Commodities

Food pantries that offer USDA commodities are required to

follow food storage, client eligibility, and distribution

guidelines as set forth by the federal government.

The RI Community Food Bank has developed a few tools to

help pantries with these guidelines.

Client Eligibility:Clients who received USDA commodities from pantries must

17.

USDA Commodities Tip Sheet

for Food Bank Member AgenciesIf your agency decides to sign the contract with the Dpt. of Human

Services and receive USDA Commodities, we thought providing tips

might be helpful to post for your pantry and program participants.

According to the USDA Commodities Distribution Plan, households

are eligible for certain numbers of units based on the family size.

Household Size Units

1-3 people 1 unit of each item Clients who received USDA commodities from pantries must

meet income guidelines. Their income does not need to be

“proven” by way of copies of paycheck or receipts…clients

may “self declare” their income by viewing the income

guidelines and signing a form. Additionally, if clients receive

government program assistance, they automatically qualify.

Call the Food Bank at 942-6325 for copies of our sample Self

Declaration Forms in Spanish or English.

1-3 people 1 unit of each item

available per family

4-6 people 2 units of each item


7+ people 3 units of each item


All USDA must be stored separately from other products.

•Designate a “USDA Commodities Program Items Only” section of

your pantry.

•Post a sign to the effect that “Anyone receiving USDA products

must sign up for the program and the amount of food given to the

client/family will be determined by Household Size (see chart

above)”.

•Simplify! Add a column on your client registration sheets that

indicate Self- Declaration forms have been signed or not signed by

the client/family, this helps you track which families qualified for

USDA commodities each month and if they received them in the

given month. OR distribute USDA cards to clients to be stamped.

Setting Program Policies Food Safety Practices

Dear Pantry Clients:

All of the baked goods on this table were made available today

Be conscious of food allergies. Use a sign, similar to the one below, to ensure that your guests know what’s in the food items they are

taking; especially if your agency gets baked goods and/or bread that is packaged in bulk with no nutritional or ingredient labels.

18.

All of the baked goods on this table were made available today

from the generous donations of local distributors.

Please be advised that any of these products

may contain allergens,

including but not limited to peanuts, wheat and soy.

Experiences from the Field �Ways to celebrate your work!

�The ins-and-outs of working with volunteers�The ins-and-outs of working with volunteers

�How can your staff and volunteers work well or serve

challenging clients better

�Other challenges to the food assistance job

�Train the Trainer, Information for Clients

Experiences from the Field19.

Party DonationsLynn & Gary Rousseau, St. Patrick’s Food Closet, Harrisville.

Phone: 568-5600

This pantry received a large donation of party goods from a party shop that was relocating. Instead of putting the items on a table as a free-for-all, they decided to organize the items and store

them in their back room. Since they have

20.

SER JobsBob MacDonald, EBCAP in East Providence.


RI SER-Jobs for Progress, Inc.

100 East Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 02860 Phone: (401) 724-1820

SER National is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to operate

the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) focusing on

the training and employment needs of the mature worker. SER serve

over 3,500 participants each year. SCSEP, in its fourth year of operation, is

administered locally by SER sub grantees.

Participants in the SER SCSEP come from all walks of life, have diverse work they decided to organize the items and store them in their back room. Since they have

birthday information on all of their registered clients, they are able to identify which families

are celebrating a birthday each week. In addition to the party goods, they also receive

donated cakes from Stop & Shop.

They package the party goods (plates, napkins, cups) and the cake for the clients. According to Gary and Lynn, the package comes as such a surprise

to the clients and everyone has been very appreciative; the expressions on the client’s

faces are “priceless”.

Participants in the SER SCSEP come from all walks of life, have diverse work

experiences and possess various levels of education. SER partners with local non-

profit organizations (host agencies) to provide participants with training

opportunities to update their skills. SER SCSEP has been successful in placing

individuals in full and part-time jobs that will benefit them economically and

socially.

SER offers the following services to the three groups served by SCSEP:

Mature Workers (SCSEP Participant)

• Training tailored to skill level and employment needs.

• Work experience in a community service assignment.

• Placement in jobs with flexible schedules and benefits.

Community-based Organizations/local & state agencies

• Opportunity to support and train mature workers.

• Additional trained staff to help organization fulfill its mission.

• Partnerships to benefit the community.

Employers

• Subsidized training assistance.

• Workers with proven work ethic and dedication.

• Mature workers who will mentor younger workers.

For more details go to http://www.ser-national.org


Household Budgeting 101

Help your clients stretch their household dollar.

This train-the-trainer workshop will teach you how to help your clients manage their home finances by creating a budget and sticking to it!

Money saving tips:

• Have written, long term savings goals

• Avoid going to stores where you have had problems overspending in the past.

• Save your loose change! A quarter and dime will add up!

22.

Free Nutrition ResourcesA. Let’s Move! http://www.letsmove.gov

Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.

Everyone has a role to play in reducing childhood obesity, including parents, elected officials from all levels of government, schools, health care professionals, faith-based and community-based organizations, and private sector companies. Your involvement is key to ensuring a healthy future for our children.

B. Fruits & Veggies — More Matters™ is a dynamic health initiative that consumers will see in stores, online, at home and on packaging.

• Save your loose change! A quarter and dime will add up!

• Teach your children. Give your children a set allowance for things like movies, CD’s, snacks, toys, instead of just cash on an as needed basis.

Did you know that everyone can get a free credit report yearly?

The website that Congress endorses for consumers to get their credit reports is www.annualcreditreport.com.

The telephone number s 877.322.8228 U.S. Mail address: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box

105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

To learn many more household budgeting tips and information, join us at our next training!

Call Loni McGrath for upcoming Household Budgeting 101 workshop trainings at 942-6325 ext. 253.

Curriculum and training provided by People's Credit Union.

that consumers will see in stores, online, at home and on packaging. It replaces the existing 5 A Day awareness program and will leverage the 5 A Day heritage and success to further inspire and support consumers to eat more fruits and vegetables, showcasing the unrivaled combination of great taste, nutrition, abundant variety, and various product forms (fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and 100% juice). It also will build upon the body of science that indicates that increased daily consumption of fruits and vegetables may help prevent many chronic diseases.

For more information on the Fruits and Veggies — More Matters health initiative, brand and logo, please visit PBH at www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.* You will also find activities and tips for getting children involved as well as more recipes.

Experiences from the FieldFree Nutrition Resources

C. Make Your Calories Count

Make Your Calories Count1 is an interactive learning program that provides consumers with information to help plan a healthful diet while managing calorie intake. The exercises will help consumers use the food label to make decisions about which food choice is right for them. For simplicity, the program presents two nutrients that should be limited (saturated fat and sodium) and two nutrients that should be consumed in adequate amounts (fiber and calcium).

The program is available as an interactive Training Module for download.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ConsumerInformation

Free Nutrition Resources

E. Nutrition.govThis website provides easy, online access to government

information on food and human nutrition for consumers. A service

of the National Agricultural Library, USDA.

http://www.nutrition.gov. Go to the Smart Nutrition 101 link of the

left side toolbar to be brought to a list of reputable sources for

handouts and information sharing about nutrition.

F. HealthFinder.govHealthfinder.gov is a government Web site where you will

http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ConsumerInformation/ucm114022.htm

D. My Pyramid and My Food Plate

My Food Pyramid: Try out the interactive tools to get a personalized eating plan, or to plan and assess your food and physical activity choices based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. http://www.mypyramid.gov/

My Plate: This model is part of a larger communications initiative based on 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to help consumers make better food choices. My Plate is designed to remind Americans to eat healthfully; it is not intended to change consumer behavior alone. My Plate illustrates the five food groups using a familiar mealtime visual, a place setting. http://www.choosemyplate.gov

Healthfinder.gov is a government Web site where you will

find information and tools to help you and those you care

about stay healthy.

When making decisions about your health, it’s important to

know where to go to get the latest, most reliable

information. healthfinder.gov has resources on a wide range

of health topics selected from over 1,600 government and

non-profit organizations to bring you the best, most reliable

health information on the Internet.

23.

Working with mental health clients.

Each year the Food Bank hosts a workshop about working with people with mental health challenges. The workshop is facilitated

by James Thomas of Riverwood Mental Health. Call Agency Services to learn about the next workshop at 942-6325.

James has provided 11 things to remember about helping the person with a mental illness.

1. Patience


Giving Program Participants an

Opportunity to Give Back

Connecting for Children and Families in Woonsocket

gives their food pantry clients an opportunity to give

back. When clients come through their doors and offer

to help out as a way of thanks, offer them a volunteer

job! 2. Listening

3. Boundaries

4. Sense of Humor

5. Personal Space

6. Respect and Dignity

7. Person who happens to be mentally ill

8. Remember why we are here

9. Help the person to focus

10. Create a welcoming atmosphere

11. Last but not least remember the “golden rule”

job!

By doing this their agency has:

1) found a great new volunteer(s), and

2) given that person an opportunity to feel good about

visiting the food pantry.

The “Best of the Best” The best of the best ideas about:

How our programs get the most bang for their buck, while serving their program participants with dignity while serving their program participants with dignity and respect!

� Funding

� Special Programs

� Food Distribution Practices

� Advocacy

The Best of the BestFunding

25.

Help Fund Your Agency

with a Thrift ShopLori Porcaro, Director of St. Edward Food & Wellness Center, Providence.


Lori’s thrift store gleans $500-$800 a month to help fuel her food pantry!

1. Secure a space to host the thrift store, away from your food storage for food safety reasons.

2. Secure volunteers to help run the thrift store

26.

Lunch On Us McAuley House, 622 Elmwood Ave., Providence, RI 02907

Tel: 401-941-9013

Community members-businesses, churches and

organizations-can directly ease those hunger-

pangs through “Lunch on Us at McAuley House”.

Program:

Organizations sponsor a month’s worth of 2. Secure volunteers to help run the thrift store and develop volunteer job descriptions for each position.

3. Develop a method for requesting, receiving and sorting donations.

4. Create “Departments” to your store, such as baby clothes, women’s clothes, men’s clothes…

5. Set limits so there is enough for everyone, such as clients may buy up to 3 items/week.

6. Each thrift store item is sold for $1 each, regardless of how large, small, or valuable it is.

7. Identify other organizations to refer client’s to if they need items that are not offered by your thrift store or to give your items to if you don’t sell them.

Organizations sponsor a month’s worth of

lunches at McAuley House, spending $10,000 to

provide more than 5,000 meals, or $5,000 for

two weeks of meals. Participating organizations

are given volunteer opportunities for employees,

in order to witness firsthand the difference they

are making.

History:

McAuley House launched “Lunch on Us” in 2007,

aiming to partner with community leaders who

wanted to see the direct impact of their

generosity.

The Best of the BestFood Distribution

27.

School Vacation ProgramsJonnycake Center of Peace Dale, 1231 Kingstown Rd., Peace Dale

Phone: (401) 789-1559

During school vacations the Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale offers a Vacation Breakfast and Lunch Program for families of

28.

Group Home Food Centers

Group Home Food Centers (GHFC) operate as a centralized

food distribution center on behalf of an organization’s

individual group home sites. Once a GHFC model is

established, all individual site accounts will be closed Lunch Program for families of school-age children who

received free or subsidized lunches at school in addition to their regular year round food

pantry allotments.

This program includes school vacations in February, April, and December as well as the entire

summer break.

established, all individual site accounts will be closed

and a new account will be opened for the GHFC.

Some benefits to transitioning to a GHFC include:

1. Shared maintenance savings.

2. Access to both on-site items (provided someone has been

food safety certified) and emergency food products.

3. Increased limits on case lot items that allow for sharing

among several houses.

4. Depending on the number of homes using the central site,

GHFCs may utilize the Food Bank more than our regular

policy of twice a week with prior approval from Agency

Services.

Interested in learning more about this model?

Call Loni in Agency Services at 942-6325.

The Best of the BestAdvocacy

29.

Hunger Task Forces

The Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale and the URI Feinstein

Center for a Hunger Free America collaborate in a

joint effort to host a Hunger Task Force. The Task

Force started in 2007 after the first Community

Conversation on Hunger. Hunger Task Force members

have promoted several ongoing initiatives aimed at

30.

Provide SNAP Outreach

The Feinstein Center for a Hunger-Free America at URI hosts a

SNAP Outreach Project. The project offers three types of

trainings depending on your needs and the populations you

serve.

1. Community Information Presentations provide basic

information to community groups and agencies about have promoted several ongoing initiatives aimed at

eliminating hunger in our community.

The Task Force Projects include:

• Shaw’s Community Rewards Program

• Senior Delivery

• Community Hunger Awareness Day

• Business Expo

• SNAP

• School Breakfast Program

• Plant A Row for the Hungry

• South Kingstown Community Garden


http://www.jonnycakecenter.org/hungertaskforce.html

information to community groups and agencies about

hunger in RI and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program.

2. Outreach Trainings are targeted to staff and

volunteers of social service agencies working with low-

income individuals. The trainings cover the benefits of

SNAP, eligibility and application guidelines.

3. Group Eligibility Presentations allow potentially

eligible individuals to learn about SNAP with their

peers. At these meetings Outreach staff review

frequently asked questions and share information

about the benefits of participating in SNAP. Application

assistance may also be included in these sessions.


http://www.uri.edu/endhunger/History.html

To schedule an outreach training or for more information,

contact Maria Cimini, 401-874-5660.

The Best of the BestSpecial Programs

31.

Teen Jonnycake

Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale, 1231 Kingstown Rd., Peace Dale Phone: (401) 789-1559

Teen Jonnycake is a program of the Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale, designed to give local youth an opportunity to earn community service hours for school, church, or

other organizations in a structured environment.

This program is headed by a youth coordinator who receives a small stipend for her work. In 2009-2010 the

32.

BNN in Westerly Work Together to Serve the Community Thanksgiving “Baskets”

The BNN (Basic Needs Network )

in Westerly works together particularly around the holidays to make sure that everyone who

needs a holiday basket, gets one, but that the resources are shared in the most receives a small stipend for her work. In 2009-2010 the

program had 38 teen volunteers representing local middle and high schools. Together, these youth put in

822 hours of volunteer time. The group was honored by the Volunteer Center of Rhode Island, receiving its 2008 Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award for their work.

At the beginning of each year, all Teen Jonnycake members participate in an orientation session that

includes a hunger awareness component. The Jonnycake Center provides continuing education

throughout the year to youth participants about the causes of hunger and encourages them to become

active in hunger prevention initiatives.


http://www.jonnycakecenter.org/volunteer.html

the resources are shared in the most

efficient way.

The BNN works

together by having each pantry take

on a town. Regardless of if the client is enrolled in your pantry on a regular basis, if they live

in a town that

another program covers, they go

there to receive their holiday basket

and vice versa.

The Best of the BestSpecial Programs

33.

Community Gardens ProgramsCoventry Community Services, 50 Wood St., Coventry

Bob Robillard, Phone: 822-9152

Coventry Community Services offers a community garden program in partnership with the URI Master Gardener

program, called Harvests from the Heart. The project is program, called Harvests from the Heart. The project is designed to educate the youth of RI about gardening

and to establish sustainable gardens in our state.

Coventry Community Services food pantry clients are encouraged to assist in the gardening program and have

been a big part in supporting the program by volunteering.

The program grows fresh vegetables for their food pantry clients to access free, and also gleans revenue through

sales at their local farm stand!

For more information go to:http://www.acga.localharvest.org

Additionally, the Food Bank offers a workshop each spring on “Community Gardens: Start to Finish”.

Agencies come in and learn from an experienced panel of member agencies and leave with a toolkit of resources to go back and

get started.

THANK YOU!

Please email Erica Hanson, Director of Agency

Services at the RI Community Food Bank at

[email protected] if you have other

ideas that you would like to share for the ideas that you would like to share for the

Toolkit.

Rhode Island Community Food Bank Member Agency Toolkit · 8. Set up your agency to accommodate...

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Transcript of Rhode Island Community Food Bank Member Agency Toolkit · 8. Set up your agency to accommodate...