Your monthly look into what's happening at the NH Food Bank.

Hello agencies!

We've reached the halfway point in the year already and we all know the second half of the year brings about the busy season for most of us in terms of holidays, so I'll make my note quick. Please remember that communication is key in this line of work. We can't serve you to the best of our ability if we don't know about key contact changes or problems you're facing with retail pickups or otherwise. Keep your coordinator posted of any staff changes that effect the food bank and remember that we try to have one point of contact for the agency and in turn, you have one main contact at the food bank. If you do not know who your coordinator is, please click the link below. If your coordinator if unavailable and you need assistance, my information is at the bottom of the bulletin.

Click here to view the coordinator territory map.

Warehouse & Delivery Site Safety

Safety is of utmost importance to our NH Food Bank staff and to you. Our team is making increased measures to ensure safety in all areas. You will see additional signage and restrictions around our building over the next few months.

We want to remind you of several safety regulations when picking up your order and also receiving your deliveries. *Please make sure anyone who picks up your order(delivery or warehouse) is aware of this information.

-Please do not enter the warehouse using the bay/loading doors. If you need to use the restroom or to visit one of the offices in our building, use the blue "Agency Door" and ring the doorbell to be granted permission to enter.

-Please do not stand on pallets. They can easily break under your feet and offer a risk of falling.

-Please do not lift or stack pallets. Our trained staff will put them away.

-Stand clear of all moving machinery (minimum of 4 feet distance). This includes electric pallet jacks and forklifts.

Safe Food Handling

Food safety certification is required of at least 1 active person at each agency. Certification is good for up to 5 years.

We continue to hold monthly sessions online via zoom, and upcoming class dates are listed at the bottom of this bulletin.

Recently our partners from UNH Cooperative Extension held an in-person Safe Food Handling class in Manchester. About 30 people were in attendance and it was a great opportunity to learn about food safety and ask questions. Upcoming in-person sessions are taking place in Laconia, Concord, Keene, Lebanon and Rochester. Contact your NHFB Coordinator for more information on dates and locations in those cities/towns.

Per the updated Feeding America contract, all sites that prepare or distribute food on-site will be required to have 1 person that is food safety test certified. This includes ServSafe, SafeMark, the National Registry of Food Safety, or another equivalent testing program that is verified by your NHFB Coordinator.

All food safety certification (of any kind) is valid for 5 years. All programs must be up to date by the end of this year. If you are unsure of your certification status or expiration date, please reach out to your NHFB Coordinator.

Nashua, NH- End 68 Hours of Hunger is a national organization that provides food to children in an effort to confront the approximately 68 hours of hunger that some school children experience between the free lunch they receive in school Friday and the free breakfast they receive in school Monday. In NH, there are multiple End 68 Hours of Hunger programs that provide children with food each week. Currently the NH Food Bank is partnered with a dozen End 68 Hours of Hunger programs to provide food for the children that they serve across the state.

We recently visited with the End 68 Hours of Hunger program in Nashua. They serve students at many of the schools in the Nashua School District at all grade levels. Each student receives a bag of shelf-stable food items to provide for each weekend meal, and a couple of snacks as well. I spoke with Jenn M., who is one of the four Program Coordinators and has been volunteering with End 68 Hours of Hunger Nashua for almost 7 years. She and her team of 20-30 regular volunteers provide bags of food to 350-500 kids per week across the school district. They frequently partner with other groups in the city such as church groups, girl scouts, school groups, and other non-profit organizations to pack food bags and raise money to purchase the needed food not available at the NHFB. 

When asked about why Jenn and her team do what they do, she had this to say “We hear from the teachers and school administrators how grateful the families are to receive our food bags. This program is making a difference for families who struggle with food insecurity. We could not do what we do without the support of our volunteers and donors.”



Eight and one-half percent of children in NH are food insecure. Feeding the needs of our youngest vulnerable population is one of the goals of the NH Food Bank and the programs that we partner with. We are proud to work with these programs and thankful for all they do each week.

Upcoming Mobile Food Pantries

The NH Food Bank will be visiting the following locations to provide free boxes of food to members of these communities. Flyers are sent out to all programs located in and around these regions. If you would like to volunteer at any of these events, please contact volunteercoordinator@nhfoodbank.org.



*Thursday, July 6th @12:00pm. Ham Ice Arena, 87 W. Main St., Conway

*Monday, July 10th @12:00pm. Walmart, 4901 Dartmouth College Hwy., Woodsville

*Thursday, July 20th @12:00pm. Runnings, 403 Washington St., Claremont

*Friday, July 21st @12:00pm. BAE back parking lot, Lock St., Nashua

*Friday, July 28th @12:00pm. Lakes Region Comm. College, 379 Belmont Rd., Laconia

*Friday, August 4th @11:00am. Comcast, 676 Island Pond Rd., Manchester

All sessions are held online via Zoom.

To enroll in any upcoming session, please contact your Agency Relations Coordinator. A zoom link will be sent out prior to the class for those who signed up to attend.

New Shopper Orientation

Tuesday, July 11th @10:00am

Thursday, July 27th @1:00pm

Wednesday, August 9th @10:00am

*If you have a new director for your program, our Training & Resource Coordinator can come to you to do in-person training.

• Granite State Market Match(GSMM), as mentioned in last month's bulletin, is great way for your clients to receive additional product for their money when using their SNAP card. Here you can find the printable list of participating Granite State Market Match locations.
• Have you missed out on viewing any past bulletins? Visit the Agency Portal to see an archive of past bulletins.