JUNE 2026

Welcome to the Team!

Please join us in welcoming Eliza Perreault and Harry Bates to our team! These two are coming on board as Fresh Rescue Coordinators and will be working closely with Hudson on rescuing as much food as we can from retailers and farms across the state. We're very excited to have them both!

NH Feeding NH

The NH Feeding NH Season is upon us! As of June 1st, all participating agencies can begin purchasing local produce, protein and dairy items from farms and farmers markets across the state.

We will be creating an email listing just for 2026 Season NH Feeding NH participants this year and hope to send out reporting reminders and opportunities! Main contacts for each agency are already added but if you have additional people that need to be kept in the loop, send them to the link below.

Sign-Up for Email Alerts Here!

New Title, Same Commitment

Kristie Deneault has transitioned from Agency Relations Manager to Assistant Director of Community Partnerships, a role that better encompasses all the work she is currently overseeing, as well as, allows for growth in her career at NH Food Bank.

She will still be overseeing Agency Relations, Fresh Rescue, NH Feeding NH and Mobile Food Pantries across the state, and will still be available for any of our community partners if they need assistance, but will also be a direct support for the Director of Operations.

Thanksgiving

As mentioned in the Partner Agency Network Call on 4/10, the NH Food Bank will not be purchasing turkeys this year. In years prior, we were purchasing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Thanksgiving turkeys and we've steadily been taking a step back from spending so much for one day and reallocating those funds to provide more to our agencies year round.

We will still be working with Hannaford for the annual Tons of Turkeys Food Drive and will make those available once received.
We will still be receiving donations and any bulk donations will be available online.
We will still have themed sides available in the purchase category.
We may have gift cards available.

Agency Drops

The feedback received from these drops has been great and we look forward to continuing throughout the year to better serve our rural agencies that only receive one delivery a month.

Orders for the North Haverhill Drop on 6/24 need to be in by noon on 6/17.

*Item availability subject to change

Upcoming Drops:

6/3 - Plainfield

6/24 - North Haverhill

7/15 - Madison

7/22 - Keene

Handbook Highlight: Agency Tiering

The New Hampshire Food Bank has a tiering model for Partner Agencies that was implemented May 1st, 2024. Agencies will have Tier-based visibility for items available on Agency Express. This does not impact order frequency, delivery schedules, Fresh Rescue or NH Feeding NH.

Tiers are based on various factors including efficiency, distribution and client accessibility, and the previous calendar year’s data, such as annual pounds sourced through the NHFB, County level data from Feeding America, etc. The goal of utilizing these metrics is to allow food sourced through the NHFB to be distributed to Partner Agencies more equitably.

Tiers will be re-evaluated on an annual basis. New Partner Agencies are automatically a Tier 1 so NHFB may collect necessary data throughout the year for the next tiering evaluation. To be fair and consistent, we cannot accept data from before the Agency was activated with the NH Food Bank. All data will be collected through reporting, monitoring, and Agency confirmation.

Tiers are currently being evaluated and notification will be sent shortly.

Annual Handbook Signature

For 2026, we will be requiring all Partner Agencies to sign the 2026 Partner Agency Handbook. This will have some updated sections and some clarification on certain topics. We will not be requiring any other documents during this annual signature but we will be asking for some contact information and program information so we can make sure we're up to date.

You do not need to sign the current handbook at this time. We will let you know when the updates are ready!

Safety in the Warehouse

As part of our commitment to keeping everyone safe in our building, there will be some changes coming for our warehouse that will impact tour groups, staff and partner agencies.

As of January 2026, all agency shoppers inside the warehouse are required to wear reflective vests to utilize the shopping area. There will be vests available right inside the agency door and can be returned after shopping is complete.

Thank you for your cooperation in making sure that everyone stays safe!

Agency Relations Team!

Kristie Deneault

Assistant Director of Community Partnerships

Hudson Wells

Fresh Rescue Manager

Christy Langlois

North Country Systems Manager

(Coos, Carroll & Upper Grafton County)

Jocelyn Cheney

Agency Relations Coordinator

(Belknap, Strafford & Rockingham County)

Marla Soucy

Agency Relations Coordinator

(Hillsborough County)

Stacey Garron

Agency Relations Coordinator

(Cheshire, Sullivan, Merrimack & lower Grafton County)

Harry Bates

Fresh Rescue Coordinator

(Southern NH)

Eliza Perreault

Fresh Rescue Coordinator

(Northern NH)

Helpful Links

Product Feedback Form

Partner Agency Handbook

Find Food Map

Agency Express

Meal Connect

Upcoming Classes

New Shopper Orientation

Tuesday, June 16th from 10:00am-12:00pm - Jocelyn

Thursday, July 16th from 1:00pm-3:00pm - Marla

Basic Food Safety Training

SAFE Food Handling For Food Pantries:

TBD - UNH Cooperative has been going through a transition and no classes are available right now. Please use one of the options below.

SAFE Food Handling For Soup Kitchens & Prepared Meals:

TBD - UNH Cooperative has been going through a transition and no classes are available right now. Please use one of the options below.

All sessions are 2-2.5 hrs. trainings via Zoom. Dates and times are subject to change based on the availability of UNH Cooperative staff.

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

Food Manager Certificate Courses

Here are some course and test options for the Food Manager Certificate that meet the meal site requirement for any agency that produces meals. Please note, just the course itself without the certificate is not the requirement.

~ Certificates are valid for 5 years ~

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

ServSafe Food Protection Manager:

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

$179 Course & Exam