Your monthly look into what's happening at the NH Food Bank. | |
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NHFB Important Dates to Remember!
*Monday, September 2nd-
NHFB CLOSED for Labor Day
*Thursday, October 10th-
Agency Appreciation Luncheon
*Monday, October 14th- NHFB CLOSED for Columbus Day
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Welcome Courtney!
Fresh Rescue Program Coordinator
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The NH Food Bank is excited to welcome Courtney Webster to the Agency Relations team. Courtney will be stepping into a new position as the NH Food Bank's Fresh Rescue Coordinator. She will be working with NH retailers to ensure our partner agencies receive beneficial donations and maintain those relationships across the state.
Courtney has 12 years of experience working with non-profits. She found her passions for giving back when she started volunteering with her church at the Bedford Community Food Pantry and at Harmony Home in Manchester. She began managing the Bedford Community Food Pantry in 2021, and during her time there she gained experience working with multiple fresh rescue retailers. She resides in Manchester with her husband, son, grandmother and foster son. She is excited to work with NHFB and our Fresh Rescue retailers to help provide the best possible fresh rescue for the NHFB agencies!
Please join us in welcoming Courtney to the team!
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NHFB & Partner Agency Network Call | |
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As you know by now, The NHFB & Partner Agency Network Call that was planned for August has been postponed. The new date will be sent out soon. Please keep any eye out for reminders and the zoom link later this month.
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There will be a SNAP Outreach Workshop on Thursday, September 5th at noon. This event is open to any program that would like to learn more about SNAP and how to discuss it with your clients. If you attended this same session previously, there is no need to attend again(unless you would like a refresher). To register to attend this week's session, click here.
For more information, see the SNAP Outreach flyer.
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Congratulations to this past quarter's QSR raffle winners. Each winner will receive a $25 credit on their NHFB account. To be eligible to win this quarter's QSR raffle, be sure to submit the next QSR on time and using the correct digital form.
*Plymouth Area Regional Senior Center
*Hope City Church Food Pantry- Manchester
*Nashua Church of Christ Food Pantry
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Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 10th for our annual Agency Appreciation Event. Official invitations will go out via email this month.
We're hoping to have a guest speaker, some breakout sessions and, of course, lunch and raffles!
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Agency Spotlight: Gerry's Food Pantry | |
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Rochester, NH- Food pantries are created to provide community members with food assistance when they are in need; however these pantries often become a resource beyond strictly providing food assistance. Gerry’s Food Pantry is a part of the Share Fund, where they consider themselves an assistance service and not just a food pantry. Executive Director, Skip Smith says “No one place can do everything. We collaborate with other community organizations to provide services for our neighbors.” The pantry also works alongside other food pantries in the town to ensure the whole community is cared for. At Thanksgiving, the multiple organizations also come together to distribute turkeys and other items for the whole town.
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Gerry’s Food Pantry serves hundreds of households each week during the multiple days that they are open. They recently incorporated a client choice model to allow visitors to choose and utilize the foods that they enjoy and will use. Skip said that the switchover took a lot of work but has already shown to be a positive one with great feedback. “Letting clients choose their items allows for more food to be used and not wasted. Bags we made (before) meant people would get what they might not want or need. That is just distributing food, but I want to actually feed people.” The pantry does still offer prepacked bags to homebound seniors and disabled neighbors, but are working on ways to provide better choice options for them as well.
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When neighbors arrive at the pantry, they are also given the opportunity to visit the thrift store, which is located in the same building. Depending on the size of their family, each week they are given a voucher with a predetermined dollar amount that they can spend on clothes and household items. The thrift store is open to the public as well, which helps raise money for the food pantry. Families with small children are also offered items from the diaper bank, if needed. For those that are eligible, financial assistance is available on-site for housing, utilities and medical care. Clients are also referred to a variety of other community services as needed.
A food pantry can mean so much to a family, in addition to the food they are receiving. Providing a welcoming, helpful and supportive program ensures that the neighbors who visit Gerry’s Food Pantry leave with a sense of being supported, and an assurance that someone in their community cares about their wellbeing. New Hampshire Food Bank is honored to be partnered with The Share Fund and are grateful for the work they do for so many families in Strafford county.
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Good Samaritan Food Donation Act | |
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In 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. In summary, this law protects your program’s donations that are made in good faith in the case of illness or harm as a result of donations you provided.
Why the Emerson Act is important?
Each year, 14 billion pounds of food are sent to landfills. Meanwhile, nearly 30 million Americans, including 12 million children, are at risk of hunger. Potential donors most often cite fear of liability as the reason they refuse to donate to feeding programs. Before passage of the national law, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had adopted laws protecting donors. Yet, differences in language and applicability between states often discouraged national and regional companies from donating. With the national law in place, regional and national donors have the uniform language that protects them from civil and criminal liability.
What does the law do?
The law protects good faith food donors from civil and criminal liability should the product later cause harm to its recipient. The Emerson Act gives uniform federal protection to donors who may cross state lines.
Who is protected?
The law protects food donors, including individuals, and nonprofit feeding programs who act in good faith. While exceptions are made for gross negligence, the law states that test groups will not be subject to civil or criminal liability. More specifically, the law protects individuals, corporations, partnerships, organizations, associations, governmental entities, wholesalers, retailers, restaurateurs, caterers, farmers, gleaners, nonprofit agencies, and more.
What sort of food is protected?
The Emerson Act provides protection for food and grocery products that meet all quality and labeling standards imposed by federal, state and local laws and regulations even though the food may not be "readily marketable due to appearance, age, freshness, grade, size, surplus or other conditions."
Feeding America statement on The Good Samaritan Food Donation Act
Printable Good Samaritan Food Donation Act policy
Source: Food Donation Connection; www.fooddonate.com/legal-liabilites
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Thanksgiving will soon be here and Thanksgiving request forms will be sent out via email in mid-September.
For 2024, the number of turkeys that will be available will be significantly less than what was available last year. We will still have turkeys and gift cards available to request, but we want everyone to know now that we will not be able to provide you with the same amount you may have received in past years. Please use the next few months to adjust your plans, fundraise or gather other donations from your community to supplement your Thanksgiving needs.
As was the case in 2023, we will not be offering any side items on Agency Express unless they are donated, and those items will only be available when ordering online while inventory allows. Additional produce should be ordered on Agency Express, as well.
We appreciate your cooperation and accommodation as we make these changes. If you have any additional questions, please contact your NHFB Coordinator.
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Culturally Preferred Produce | |
 |  | Over the past two years, the NH Food Bank's NH Feeding NH program has partnered with Fresh Start Farms to provide culturally preferred produce to over a dozen partner programs. Culturally preferred produce is food that is safe and nutritious, and foods that meets the diverse tastes and needs of neighbors based on their cultural identity. Many of the programs that benefit from this program feed clients and neighbors from diverse cultures whose preferred foods are not always made available at local stores or the local food pantry. Partnering with Fresh Start Farms, has allowed participating programs the ability to acquire items such as pumpkin leaves, daikon radish, amaranth, African eggplant, okra, and collard greens. Many of these items are specifically requested by the clients that visit each program and are then used and in their homes to create meals that are familiar to them and their families. The NH Food Bank is happy to partner with Fresh Start Farms to make these items available to our eligible programs and hope to continue to expand the program in the upcoming growing seasons.
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Indoor Shopping Training Video | |
To be able to access the NHFB's indoor shopping floor, everyone must have proper training and complete the signed agreement. We are now offering this training by viewing a pre-recorded video and then signing the corresponding agreement. For anyone at your program that would like to acquire this training and access the shopping floor, the training video can now be found on the NH Food Bank's Agency Portal within the Agency Training section. Here is the direct link to view the video. Once the video has been viewed, the viewer needs to complete the Indoor Shopping Agreement that is posted below the video. That form then needs to returned to the program's NHFB Agency Coordinator to be completed and added to your account. If you have any questions, please contact your Agency Relations Coordinator directly. | |
First Responder Training - open to all | |
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Learn how you could save a life in just 10 minutes!
Roughly 1 in every 3 Americans have reported knowing someone who has died from a drug overdose, according to a new study conducted by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) is a global event held August 31st each year to remember those gone too soon from overdoses and commit to our goal of preventing these deaths, from the workplace to any place. Being equipped with the knowledge and tools on how to respond to an opioid overdose can save a life.
You can learn how to recognize the signs and symptoms of an overdose and use lifesaving Naloxone through an online training offered by UNH Extension. It's called the "Community First Responder Program" and in just 10-15 minutes you can take the online education module and receive a free Naloxone kit by mail. Just enter your mailing address at the conclusion of the module and your kit will arrive in your regular postal service mail in just a few days.
To learn more about the course, or to take the training, visit this page.
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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
(2 hour online training)
Tuesday, September 10th @10:00am
If you would like to attend an Orientation past September 10th, please contact your NHFB Coordinator directly for options.
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Food Safety Training
(2 Hour online training)
SAFE Food Handling For Food Pantries:
Thursday, October 3rd @9:30am
Monday, December 9th @1:00pm
SAFE Food Handling For Soup Kitchens & Prepared Meals:
Monday, August 5th @1:30pm
Wednesday, September 25th @2:00pm
All sessions are held online via Zoom.
If you need to acquire food safety training (non-meal sites) but 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, but Alison.com charges to print a certificate. So instead just send us a screenshot of the certificate or a screenshot of your “Learner Record” with the date of completion found in your Account Settings. Please be sure to provide your NHFB Coordinator with proof of completion for either course.
All programs are required to have at least one person at their facility that is Safe Food Handling certified (or a similar certification) at all times. Programs that serve meals are required to have at least 1 person that has ServSafe Food Handlers certification. By June 1st 2025, this requirement will be for ServSafe Manager. All certification is good for 3-5 years depending on the exam.
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One Last Note From Agency Relations | |
*The NHFB's Cooking Matters® program pauses operation each summer and will resume in the Fall. If you are interested in hosting a Cooking Matters class at your facility, you can be added to the waitlist for when sessions resume. Please contact your NHFB Coordinator to be added to the waitlist. | | | | |
