Your monthly look into what's happening at the NH Food Bank. |
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March 2023
NHFB Closures
Fri. April 7th- Good Friday
Welcome
New Agencies:
Moultonborough Senior Meals
Passage House- Laconia
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SNAP Benefit Changes
Starting this month, if any of your clients receive SNAP benefits from the state of NH, their monthly allotment will be reduced back to pre-pandemic dollar amounts.
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National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This year’s theme is "Fuel for the Future,” which focuses on eating with sustainability in mind to nourish ourselves during every phase of life and protect the environment.*
Throughout the month, we’ll be focusing on different weekly topics related to nutrition!
Do you pick up your Food Bank orders here in Manchester? Our nutrition team plans on hosting weekly taste-tests with recipes that highlight our nutrition programs. Be sure to check them out when you’re here!
Don’t pick up here in Manchester? There are still many ways to take part in National Nutrition Month®! Our nutrition team will be sharing recipes, tips and more all month long on our social media channels! So keep an eye on the NH Food Bank’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
Want to learn more about NH Food Bank nutrition-related programs, like our Nutrition Pantry Program, SNAP Outreach and Incentives, Cooking Matters®, Summer Food Service, Recipe for Success Culinary Job Training and more? Visit: https://nhfoodbank.org/what-we-do/
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HAMPSTEAD, N.H. –St. Anne’s Ecumenical Food Pantry has been serving 5 towns in New Hampshire for about 35 years and offers a variety of services for their guests. Jim, the pantry director, has so much passion for the food ministry and pantry itself, which is evident when he speaks of all the things the church and pantry are doing alongside the community. St. Anne’s also works closely with multiple community organizations to find new and exciting ways to make a difference in the lives of so many neighbors, including to-go meals, a community garden and even a potential delivery service.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit NH, Jim and his team considered how they could do more to meet the need. The Elementary School located across the street from the church was closed and they knew that many children were going without meals during that time. Volunteers from the pantry and church came together to create ‘Heaven’s Kitchen’ and made breakfast and lunch to-go meals for about 50 families, five days a week. With this new-found ministry and volunteers that were hoping to do more, they partnered with 1269 Café Soup Kitchen in Manchester to prepare and serve their Tuesday night meal. This expanded to preparing single portion boxed meals for the homeless encampments located near the 1269 Café, as well.
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Located behind the pantry, a community garden made up of 33 raised garden beds and rows were created by a local Boy Scout troop. The garden is now in its third year of use and Jim is excited to see what is harvested this Summer and Fall. Students and teachers at the local Elementary and Middle Schools have begun cultivating seedlings in their classrooms, and will then later transfer the seedlings into the garden beds. Along with volunteers from the community, students and teachers tend to the crops until they are ready to be harvested and much of that produce is donated to the food pantry. In 2022, the community held a fundraiser for the pantry and the funds collected were used to purchase and build a greenhouse so that produce can be grown year-round. |
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Recently the pantry has increased from serving several dozen families once a week to now opening their doors for 3 food distributions a week. When the Danville Lion’s Club reached out to ask how they could be of help, Jim suggested that they help to run the weekend distribution. These additional hours have allowed for more families to benefit from the food pantry when they previously weren’t able to attend a distribution on a weekday. The plan for 2023 is to expand to include delivery service of meals for homebound seniors and veterans as well. Jim’s team loves what they do and said “Heaven’s Kitchen is designed to match our volunteer’s love of cooking with serving the community with home cooked meals.”
We at the NH Food Bank are grateful for the work and dedication that St. Anne’s Ecumenical Food Pantry puts forth every week for the benefit of their neighbors.
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The Agency Relations team has partnered with the NHFB's Recipe For Success Nutrition team to create a monthly Agency Learning Series. The majority of these sessions are intended to explore topics that can be used directly within your program to better your experience for your team and your clients.
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NH Food Bank Staff Spotlight |
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Jennifer Lenox has been an integral part of the NH Food Bank team for almost 5 years. She is a lifelong Manchester resident and a proud mom of two “beautiful humans”. She is a self-proclaimed “plant lady” and can often be found watering them at her daughter’s vegan café, The Green Beautiful. She loves animals, especially her dog Duchess and cat named Gato. She really cares about the NHFB’s mission, her job and the people she works with. Those are the things that make her happy to come into work every day!
Jen wears two hats within our building. Coming from a restaurant background helps in her role as RFS Administrative Assistant for the NHFB’s Recipe For Success Culinary Job Training program. Being a people person provides a good fit for her role as SNAP Outreach Coordinator, where she provides SNAP application assistance and helps spread the word about SNAP/EBT throughout NH.
As you may know, March brings the end of SNAP Emergency Allotments (allocated during the pandemic) and many will see a drop in their benefit amount. If you have questions about these changes and how it may affect your clients, we encourage you to reach out to Jennifer at snap@nhfoodbank.org or 1-877-347-7627. You can also call DHHS directly at 1-844-275-3447.
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QSR Winners
Congratulations to the 4th Quarter 2022 QSR winners! Each winning agency has received a $25 credit on their NHFB account.
- Gerry's Food Pantry- Rochester
- Conway Village Church Food Pantry
- Operation Blessing- Portsmouth
To be eligible to win next quarter, be sure to submit your report on time (when next issued in April) and use the current form.
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All sessions are held online using Zoom.
To enroll in any upcoming session, please contact your Agency Relations Coordinator. A zoom link will be sent out to those who signed up prior to the class.
New Shopper Orientation
Thursday, March 9th @10am
Wednesday, March 29th @1pm
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All programs are required to have at least one person at their facility that is Safe Food Handling certified.
Safe Food Handling
For Food Pantries:
Thursday, April 6th @2:30pm
Tuesday, June 6th @9:30am
For Soup Kitchens & Prepared Meals:
Thursday, March 23rd @9am
Tuesday, May 23rd @2pm
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A Final Note From Agency Relations |
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Have you missed out on viewing any past bulletins? Visit the Agency Portal to see an archive of past bulletins.
- NH Food Bank inventory fluctuates monthly based on supply chain availability and donations. Please remember that the NHFB is a supplemental resource for your program and we encourage you to acquire food from your community on a regular basis.
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NH Feeding NH's 2022 season has ended as of February 28th. Keep an eye out for information on the 2023 season later this spring. Thank you to all those that participated in this most recent round of this program.
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Agency Relations Manager.
Agency Relations Coordinator for Belknap, Rockingham and Strafford counties.
Agency Relations Coordinator for Coos, Carroll, and northern Grafton counties.
Agency Relations Coordinator for Cheshire, Sullivan, Merrimack & southern/central Grafton county.
Agency Relations Coordinator for Hillsborough county.
Agency Relations Training and Resource Coordinator.
NH Feeding NH Program Coordinator for all of NH.
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