Listening Sessions!

You’re Invited!

The New Hampshire Food Bank (NHFB) is embarking on an important journey to develop our next strategic plan, and your partnership is more critical than ever. As we look to the future, we want to ensure our strategies are deeply informed by the experiences and insights of those working directly in the communities we serve – that means you. As a vital part of the assessment phase of our planning, we will be hosting a series of Partner Listening Sessions in the coming weeks/months. These sessions are designed to be a dedicated space for us to hear directly from you.

Your input is crucial. Your perspectives will help us reshape our collective approach to ending hunger in New Hampshire and strengthen the ways we work together. These sessions are also a vital opportunity for us at the NH Food Bank to listen and learn how we can better support your essential work and enhance our services to you and your communities.

Thank you for your partnership. We are excited about the opportunity to connect and look forward to seeing you all at the session!

8/5 - Strafford County

8/12 - Merrimack County

8/14 - Rockingham County

8/19 - Hillsborough County

Please also share the link below to take the Listening Session Survey! Whether you were able to come to the sessions or not, we want to hear your thoughts and opinions on the various topics we covered. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey and share it with all who would like to take it.

Listening Session Survey

Agency Spotlight:

Cynthia Day Family Center

Click here to learn more about Cynthia Day Family Program

Cynthia Day Family Center in Nashua is a unique recovery center focusing on the needs of mothers. This Agency supports the recovery of women in different stages of motherhood, from pregnancy and post-partum to actively parenting. Cynthia Day Family Center provides services designed to help women enter recovery. Teaching them vital skills to support their journey while caring for their family and becoming self-sufficient.

Recently this Partner Agency joined our Fresh Rescue Program. They were paired with our Feeding America retail partner, Hannaford. Through this partnership the Agency has been able to feed the 40 participants in their residential program and reduced their food budget by over $4,000/month.

Accessing Additional Food

Here are a few ideas to help you get your agencies stocked and feed your clients!

Utilize Agency Express by placing weekly orders (for delivery agencies, you can order in the off-weeks).
Join the Fresh Rescue Program and get paired with a local retailer!
Use social media to engage your local neighbors for donations. Be specific about what you need.
Look for local grants and apply. Local clubs often have charitable grants annually.
Partner with local business to host food drives on your behalf (bakeries, coffee shops, insurance agencies, banks)
Have a food drive of your own. Grocery stores love to help and will often allow you set up a table by their entrance.

A Message from your Agency Relations Team

Please be mindful of your allotted appointment times here at the warehouse. The NH Food Bank has hundreds of orders going out of our doors every week and it can disrupt the flow of our distribution when agencies arrive too early, are late for their appointment time, miss appointments, or shop for longer than the allotted 20-minute window.

If you are going to be late or miss your appointment, please inform us. Late or missed appointments can result in orders needing to be moved multiple times and can impact other agencies that have appointments before and after you. We are a small, but mighty, group and too many disruptions can result in oversights and delays.

We understand that life happens, however, with an increase in recent late or missed appointments, we're finding that we're going to need to follow-up more closely. Thank you for your understanding.

Upcoming Classes

As of June 1st, all Meal Sites must have ServSafe Manager or equivalent Food Protection Manager Certification. If we do not have proof of completion, you will be placed on hold.

Please send proof of completion to your coordinator.

New Shopper Orientation

Please contact your NHFB Coordinator directly for options.

Food Safety Training

SAFE Food Handling For Food Pantries:

Wednesday, September 10th from 10am - Noon

Monday, November 3rd from 10am - Noon

SAFE Food Handling For Soup Kitchens & Prepared Meals:

Tuesday, August 26th from 10am – Noon

Thursday, October 23rd from 2pm – 4 pm

All sessions are 2 hr. trainings via Zoom.

If you need to acquire food safety training (non-meal sites) but are unable to attend a live zoom session, a similar training can be done online at workhub.com/features/training/food-safety or Alison.com/course/food-safety-and-hygiene. Both courses are free.Alison.com charges to print a certificate. To avoid this cost, send your Agency Coordinator a screenshot of the certificate or a screenshot of your “Learner Record” with the date of completion found in your Account Settings.

Food Manager Certificate Courses

Here are some course options for the Food Manager Certificate that meet the meal site requirements due by June 1st

Certificates are valid for 5 years

ServSafe Food Protection Manager:

https://www.servsafe.com/ServSafe-Manager/Buy-Manager-Products

$179 Course & Exam

Learn2Serve NH Food Safety Manager:

https://www.360training.com/learn2serve/food-safety-manager/New-Hampshire

$121 Course & Exam

Always Food Safe Manager:

https://alwaysfoodsafe.com/en/food-protection-manager/new-hampshire

$126 Course & Exam