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HOW TO START
A STUDENT-RUN
FOOD PANTRY
AT YOUR SCHOOL:
A RESOURCE GUIDE
Created by
AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteers
Spring 2008
Table of Contents:
Introduction
2
Step 1: Understanding the Need for Food
2
Step 2: Contact the San Francisco Food Bank
4
Step 3: Building a Team at your School Site
5
Step 4: Planning and Preparation at your School Site
8
Step 5: The Recipe for Success
11
Works Cited
20
Appendix A: Healthy Children Pantry Locations
21
Appendix B: Food Pantry Planning Worksheet
22
Appendix C: Food Pantry Check List
24
Appendix B: San Francisco Food Bank Monthly Report
25
Appendix C: Sample Food Pantry Sign-In Sheet
26
Appendix D: Sample Food Pantry Flyer
27
Appendix E: Sample Food Pantry Press Releases
29
Appendix D: The San Francisco Food Bank’s
A Look at Hunger in San Francisco: Neighborhood
Profiles of Hunger and Food Programs
34
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
Introduction
This resource guide was made for Site Coordinators, Program Leaders, and students who
are interested in starting a Food Pantry at their school. This resource guide proposes a
partnership between your After School Program and the San Francisco Food Bank. In this
collaboration:
1.
The San Francisco Food Bank will deliver a seasonal variety of fresh fruits and
vegetables each week, canned and packaged USDA items once a month, additional
products when available. The San Francisco Food Bank partners with nonprofit
agencies and schools to provide free, supplemental groceries to low-income
families with children as part of their Healthy Children Pantry Program. The
Healthy Children Pantry Program was designed to help San Francisco’s children
meet their basic nutritional needs.
2. Your After School Program will be responsible for setting-up the Food Pantry,
distributing the food, and cleaning-up afterwards. This resource guide highlights
some best practices for successfully starting a Food Pantry at your school.
In the 2007-2008 school year, ExCEL After School Programs started three new Food
Pantries as part of the Cesar E. Chavez After School Service-Learning Clubs at San
Francisco Community School (the first ever student-run Food Pantry in northern
California), Horace Mann Middle School, and Everett Middle School. These Food Pantries
are successful because they are addressing the problem of hunger in the community and
working towards a sustainable solution to the problem.
In addition, these Food Pantries are engaging students in a meaningful and high-quality
service learning experience. Educating students about hunger is a powerful anti-hunger
campaign. Starting a Food Pantry at your school will not only provide key resources to
families struggling to make ends meet, but also guarantee the healthy growth of the
whole student.
Step 1: Understanding the Need for Food
Before starting a food panty at your school, it is important that you create a safe place
where your students feel comfortable discussing the topic of hunger. While hunger is
sometimes considered to be a problem specific to the urban poor, the reality is that
people living in hunger can be found in almost every community and country, rural and
urban. Encourage your students to examine not only the problems associated with
hunger, but also the conditions that cause poverty and lead to hunger.
“The outrage of hunger amidst plenty
will never be solved by ‘experts’
somewhere.
It will only be solved when people like
you and me decide to act.”
—Frances Moor Lappe, Author
2
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
Hunger affects people of all ages and backgrounds. There are currently 150,000 people
living in San Francisco who live with the threat of
hunger every day. 1 Many San Franciscans in need of
Fast Facts about
food assistance have full- or part-time jobs.
Hunger
Unfortunately though, this does not guarantee that
™ 150,000 people in San
they have enough money to buy healthy groceries
Francisco go hungry
each week. As a result, many children are left
everyday 1
snacking on cheap junk foods, soda, and candy. San
™ Almost 12 million youth
Francisco has some of the highest housing costs in
in the United States live
the country, and more often than not, people are
in poverty 2
forced to make difficult choices among basic needs
™ Adolescents who live in
such as food, health care and rent. Food is often the
homes without
last need met.
sufficient amounts of
food are 5 times more
Especially alarming is the threat of hunger facing our
likely to attempt suicide5
children. In the United States, almost 12 million
™ 53% of students in San
children live in poverty. 2 Hunger impairs the child’s
Francisco Unified School
ability to learn, grow and stay healthy. 3 Furthermore,
District receive free or
hunger has been proven to have a profound effect on
reduced lunch7
the child’s cognitive, academic and psychosocial
development. 4 One study at Cornell University has
found that young people between the ages of 15 to 16 living in homes where there is not
always enough to eat, are five times more likely to attempt suicide, compared with wellfed adolescents. They also are four times more likely to suffer from chronic depression,
almost twice as likely to have been suspended from school, and have more problems
getting along with their peers. 5 This study also revealed that young people between the
ages of 6 to 11 who do not have enough food are 1.4 times more likely to have repeated a
grade and to have significantly lower math scores. 6
According to the San Francisco Unified School District’s website, 53% of our students
receive free and reduced lunches. 7 Starting a Food Pantry at your school will help
familiarize your students with local needs and the services that address them. It is a
deliberate action taken by members of the school community to improve everyday quality
of life.
1
San Francisco Food Bank. A Look at Hunger in San Francisco: Neighborhood Profiles of Hunger and Food
Programs.
2
Berger, Kaye. The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic
Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, & Social Action, 146.
3
Ibid.
4
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/April02/hunger.kids.ssl.html.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
http://orb.sfusd.edu/profile/prfl-100.htm
3
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
Step 2: Contact the San Francisco Food Bank
Telephone: 415-282-1900
Website: www.sffoodbank.org
Address: 900 Pennsylvania Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107
FYI: The San Francisco Food Bank organizes food distribution by city
districts, so you will want to speak with the representative assigned
to your neighborhood. They will walk you through the process of
helping to end hunger in your community.
4
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
Step 3: Building a Team at your School Site
Set up a meeting with your representative from the San Francisco Food Bank, school
principal, After School Program Site Coordinator, and anyone else who has expressed
interest/you think would be interested (i.e. Parent Liaison, Learning Support Professional,
School Nutritionist, etc.) in starting a Food Pantry at your school. At the meeting, you’ll
want to discuss these questions (Use the Worksheet on Page 22 to guide the discussion):
1) What type of Food Pantry will you have? The San Francisco Food Bank offers two
models, the School Food Pantry, or the Community Food Pantry, for starting a Food
Pantry at your school.
; In the first model, the School Food Pantry will only be open to your
students, their family, and faculty members. This Food Pantry is only open
to the immediate school community, and not the greater community. In the
second model, however, the Community Food Pantry is open to both the
school community and the greater community. In this model, everyone,
including your students, their family, faculty members and the general
public are welcome and encouraged to come.
2) When will it begin? When will it end? Most Food Pantries operate once a week
and are open for about an hour. Assuming you are operating the Food Pantry
during your After School Program, you might be open from 4:00pm to 5:00pm.
However, if you have an early release day, that might be preferable so your
students have more time for set-up/clean-up. Will you schedule your food drive to
coincide with other special events? Will you have your Food Pantry during
Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other holidays when school is closed?
; Keeping in mind the dynamic of your After School Program, try to avoid
scheduling the Food Pantry at the same time as a sports club, enrichment
activity, or homework time.
3) How many people would you like to serve? Fifty families is the minimum number
set by the San Francisco Food Bank.
4) Who will help you run the Food Pantry? Hopefully the students! (Make sure you
always have the appropriate student to teacher ratio.) Decided who else besides
the students you want to participate in the Food Pantry. Faculty? Neighbors?
Stores? Churches? Clubs? All of the above?
; How many volunteers (students and adults) does a pantry need? While
each Food Pantry is different, it is important to have between 5 and 10
people helping out. Volunteers help out by setting up the pantry, assisting
customers with their shopping and cleaning up the pantry.
; While all volunteers may receive food from the Food Pantry, but it is
important to make sure they do not receive more food than anyone else.
5
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
5) Where will the Food Pantry be located? At your school (e.g. in the cafeteria, a
class room, in the gymnasium, outside in the courtyard)? At a Community Center?
Other possibilities? Think about the space available. Will the pantry be inside or
outside?
; Consider where you will get your tools and materials (i.e. tables, chairs,
food-handling gloves, plastic bags, paper bags, paper towels, recycling,
garbage, and green bins, box cutter, sign-in sheet, tickets, etc.)
; Where will you store the leftover food? Although this is not always the
case, there is sometimes a remaining bag of onions, carrots, box of pinto
beans, etc. Do you have access to the school’s kitchen?
The table below describes three different Food Pantry models:
After
School
Program
Community
School
Pantry
Pantry
Days of
Operation
Hours of
Operation
Number of
People
Served
Community
N/A
Tuesday
3:00pm to
4:00pm
~120
families
Horace Mann
Middle School
N/A
School
Monday
3:30pm4:15pm
~30 families
Everett
Middle School
N/A
School
Thursday and
Friday
4:00pm6:00pm
~50 families
San Francisco
Community
School
Figure 1.1 ExCEL’s After School Food Pantry Programs
6
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
Interested in checking out other
types of Food Pantries around San
Francisco?
Visit the Food Pantry at St. Gregory’s
Episcopal Church, located at 500 De Haro
Street, San Francisco, CA 94107.
The Food Pantry is open every Friday at 2:00
PM. For more information, please call (415)
255-8100 or log on to
http://www.saintgregorys.org.
St. Gregory’s Food Pantry is one of San
Francisco Food Bank’s most established
distribution sites. The Found Pantry was
founded by Sara Miles in 2000 and currently
provides free groceries to over 450 hungry
San Francisco families every week. The Food
Pantry is run entirely by volunteers, most of
them people who came to get food and stayed
to help out. To arrange speaking
engagements, readings and workshops, or to
write to Sara Miles: sara@saramiles.net.
Figure 1.2 Students at San Francisco Community School
hosting a farmer’s market styled Food Pantry.
7
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
STEP 4: PREPARING AT YOUR SCHOOL SITE
; Making a Budget
First of all, know that your school site does not need to have a lot of money to start a
Food Pantry, but it does need a little. The San Francisco Food Bank will ask your
organization to buy at least 4 to 6 different dry grocery items from the Food Bank such
as cereal, rice, meat, pasta, beans, bread, and canned goods each week. These dry goods,
also known as specialty items, are sold at discounted prices. You can also choose to buy
non-food items such as laundry soap, shampoo and conditioner, and dish soap.
•
How much does this cost? Pantries are expected to shop at the Food Bank at the
rate of $1 per household, per week. Here is a table to help you determine your
pantry budget:
Number of Households
50
75
100
Monthly Cost
$200
$300
$400
Annual Cost
$2,500
$3,750
$5,000
Figure 1.3 Sample Food Pantry Budgets
•
Money for these dry groceries and specialty items can come from community
sponsors like local businesses, individual donors and community groups, grants,
fundraisers, or even parent involvement. Just remember, no money can be
demanded or expected from the people who come to the pantry every week!
•
Sustainability: Community Food Pantries that are open to the whole community and
operate continuously for at least one year are automatically qualified for FEMA
Funding which will cover half of all Food Pantry expenses the following year. Please
note that School Food Pantries that only serve the immediate school community do
not qualify for FEMA funding.
; Orientation and Training
•
Set up a time for a representative from the San Francisco Food Bank to come and
visit your school site. He or she will host an on-site orientation and training for
student and adult volunteers. This orientation and training will last for about an
hour and a half and will help familiarize the volunteers with the San Francisco Food
Bank, the Food Pantry network, and the specific Food Pantry model that will be
implemented at your school site (Community Food Pantry or School Food Pantry).
•
You will also want to discuss the concept of customer service. This is a respectful
environment and it is crucial that the Food Pantry be a safe, comforting and
welcoming place for all members of the community.
o It is important that your Food Pantry encourage patronage by fostering a
non-discriminatory atmosphere for everyone involved.
8
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
o You also want to make it very clear that there will be NO throwing food,
stealing food, fighting over who does what, showing up late or inappropriate
behavior.
; Advertisement and Community Outreach
•
•
•
Make a Flyer about your Food Pantry. Put
the flyers up all around the neighborhood.
Depending on your community, it might be
advantageous to make these signs in
multiple languages.
Connect with the Parent Liaison at your
school about hosting a Parents’ Night. It is
also worth attending a School Site Council or
PTA meeting. Come with a Volunteer Signup Sheet. You definitely want to give
parents a chance to be involved—hopefully
some parents will be interested in regularly
volunteering, while others might go home
and encourage their son or daughter to
volunteer. Better still, some parents will
probably have good ideas and insight about
how to set-up/arrange the Food Pantry.
Make sure you listen to their opinion and
concerns. In some situations, you might
need to educate the group about what a
Food Pantry is, advocate for why your
school site should have one, and do a little
convincing.
Getting Your Youth
Involved
Making and posting fliers is a great way
to get your youth involved in the
planning process. Be sure to include in
all the fliers:
 The name of your After School
Program
 A shout out to the San Francisco
Food Bank
 The dates of your food pantry
 The location of your pantry
 The name and contact
information for the main point of
contact at the school site
Youth can be involved in the design,
translation, and posting of the Food
Pantry Fliers. Remember, the more
involved your students are, the more the
Food Pantry will mean to them.
Make sure parents know these important
points:
o There will always be plenty of After
School Program staff and adult
volunteer/chaperons present during the Food Pantry hours of operation.
o All patrons of the Food Pantry will have to sign-in their name at the Sign-In
Table which will always be staffed by the After School Program staff.
o Patrons will not be allowed to use the school restrooms or facilities, unless
otherwise specified by the principal. The patrons wait in an organized line,
move quickly through the Food Pantry, and will exit the premises
immediately afterwards.
9
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
•
Check in with the school secretary about how best to inform all of the teachers
and faculty members at your school about the soon to be open Food Pantry. You
want to streamline the school day and After School Program as much as possible.
If possible, make an announcement at the next school staff meeting so everyone
on campus will at least know the After School Program is starting a Food Pantry.
This way, the teachers and faculty members can help encourage students to be
involved—and maybe they will want to be involved as well.
o Most schools will usually send out a weekly envelope (e.g. Wednesday
Envelope) to teachers, parents and guardians with school news, updates,
and other points of interest. Ask the school secretary about including
the Food Pantry Flyer in next week’s envelope.
o If you do not already have a school attendance roster with students’
home address, you should also ask the school secretary for one. Your
goal is to create a mail merge of address labels so you can easily send
home an informational flyer to parents. Tip: The School Secretary
might have a mail merge template already made up!
o Also ask the School Secretary about using the auto dialer. The auto
dialer is a fast and easy way to get the word out!
•
Tell as many people as possible! Word of mouth is the fastest and most
convincing way to get people to come.
o One of the keys to providing a rich, sustainable Food Pantry is to involve
the surrounding community. This community can help you expand your
Food Pantry’s services, volunteer team, diversity, and support. All you
have to do is find out who your neighbors are and involve them. 8
•
For Community Food Pantries, write a press release and send it to the local radio,
TV, and cable stations and newspapers. Be sure to include all the necessary
information (i.e. What, Where, When, Who, and How). The more people know
about your Food Pantry, the more support you will have.
o Make sure you have approval from your school administrator before
sending out the release!
o Once you have approval, send out the press release two weeks before
the first day of the Food Pantry.
“If you don’t like the way the world is, you change
it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do
it one step at a time.”
—Marian Wright Edelman, Founder, Children’s Defense Fund
8
Refer to ExCEL After School Programs, How to Create A Successful After School Program: A Resource Guide, pg. 72, for more
information
10
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
STEP 5: THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
; Shopping for Specialty Items at the San Francisco Food Bank:
To shop for the dry groceries and additional specialty items (e.g. non-food items or
frozen goods), you will need to go to the San Francisco Food Bank the day before
your Food Pantry to shop.
•
On your first visit, you will have to open up a new account. The San Francisco
Food Bank will give you an account number.
•
This account number can only be issued to “designated shoppers” for your
school site, so you will need to know who these people are before you go down
there to set up the account.
•
Most school sites have about 2 to 4 designated shoppers. Remember to
always bring the account number with you to the Food Bank when you go
shopping.
; Things to Have Prepared Ahead of Time:
On the first day of the Food Pantry, you will be busy directing volunteers, shuffling
tables, and setting-up the food. Do yourself a favor and make sure everything is
ready for operation ahead of time. Here is a helpful list of some important things to
have thought about and prepared ahead of time:
A wheel-chair accessible space
A weather-proof space incase of rain
Signs to help direct people where to go
At least 3 or 4 large tables to display the food on
Sign-In Sheet with a couple of pens or pencils. The SignIn Sheet should have two blank columns, one clearly
marked “Names” and the other “Zip Code”. If you choose
to only operate the School Food Pantry model, you do not
need to include the zip code category. For an example,
see Page 26.
Tickets, if you should choose to use them. Some Food
Pantries use tickets as a way to discourage their patrons
from going through the Food Pantry line more than once on
the same day.
Extra bags for people to carry food in if they forgot to
bring their own.
11
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
; Setting Up the Pantry
By now, you should have decided upon your Food Pantry’s distribution style. If you
plan to distribute groceries like at a farmer’s market, have the students display the
food nicely on the tables. Make sure that everything is organized and all of the
same item are in the same station (for example, keep all of the vegetables
together on one table and all of the bread together on another table). This way,
the patrons can come through the line, choose what they want, and leave what
they do not want. This model empowers the patron to select their food, just like
they would at a farmer’s market or grocery store.
Figure 1.4 Sample Flowchart of Setting up a Farmer’s Market Style Food Pantry
The alternative set-up is to have the student volunteers put together pre-packed
bags. In this arrangement, the food items will be equally distributed into paper or
plastic bags so that when the Food Pantry opens, the patrons just pick up their bag
and go on their way. This approach, while a little less social, allows for quick, easy,
and efficient distribution.
12
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
; Define the Volunteers’ Roles
Be sure to have a schedule of student volunteers who are coming to help set-up,
distribute, and clean-up. Each student volunteer should be assigned to a specific
station, which will be their designated responsibility during the Food Pantry. Below is a
sample schedule for student volunteers. (Please note that you will need more student
volunteers than are listed below.)
STATIONS
NAME
SET UP
Sign-In Table
Box Duty
Oranges
Pasta
Spinach
Rice
Sarai
Christopher
Lily
Benjamin
Malik
Oscar
X
X
CLEAN UP
X
X
X
X
Figure 1.5 Sample Schedule for student volunteers inspired by Jean’s Free Grocery and Food Pantry
at San Francisco Community School.
•
These roles and responsibilities can be assigned by an adult or chosen by the
students themselves. Depending on the group dynamic of your student volunteers,
you may want to have them keep their same station each time or rotate around to
the different stations.
•
If needed, make a schedule of adult volunteers who can help shop at the San
Francisco Food Bank and chaperone the Food Pantry distribution each week. Like
the students, each adult volunteer should be assigned to a specific station. These
stations should deal with safety, observation, and directive tasks (e.g. line
management, designated box cutter, watching the entrance and exit points, etc.).
o Please note: With the exception of one-time visits and parents of
after school students, all volunteers over the age of 18 must be
cleared through the district’s approved screening process, which
includes getting tested for tuberculosis and fingerprint cleared.
STATIONS
NAME
SET UP
CLEAN UP
Sign-In Table
Charlene—After
School Program
Staff
Patricia—After
School Program
Site Coordinator
J.J. —School
Safety and
Support Staff
Suzi—Garden
Teacher
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Line
Management
Box Duty
Green
Bin/Compost
13
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
Floater (keeps
people on task;
takes care of
any problems)
Additional
Support
Howard—After
School Program
Leader
X
X
Ariel—
AmeriCorps
Volunteer
X
X
Figure 1.6 Sample Schedule for adult volunteers inspired by Jean’s Free Grocery and
Pantry at San Francisco Community School.
Food
; Delivery and Set Up
By now, you will have worked with your representative from San Francisco Food Bank
to determine the time for the food delivery. Make sure that there is at least one hour
between the delivery drop-off when the Food Pantry will open. This will give the
volunteers a reasonable amount of time to set everything up. Some important factors
to keep in mind:
•
The San Francisco Food Bank truck driver will be using a fork-lift to unload the
food, so the student volunteers should not start unpacking the food until after
the big machinery is out of the way.
•
The food is delivered on wooden crates in plastic wrap. The San Francisco
Food Bank reuses all of these wooden crates, so you will need to make sure
they are not accidentally recycled or thrown out. If need be, ask the school’s
janitor where a good place to store them would be. The San Francisco Food
Bank will pick up the wooden crates on the next delivery date.
•
Before the volunteers begin unpacking the food, call everyone together as a
group. It is important to start things off in the right way. You want to make
sure that all the volunteers have a clear understanding as to what they are
doing, where they are going to do it, when they are going to do it, who they are
going to do it with, and how they are going to do it. Identify specific rules,
positive recognition systems, and consequences for the student volunteers.
•
After all of the tables have been covered with food, restock the extra food
items under their corresponding tables so they will be easily accessible when
needed. Setting things up this way keeps things organized and makes
distribution fast and easy.
14
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
 Keep the extra
food under the
tables and refill
as needed!
 Each student
oversees their own
station and is in
charge of making
sure patrons know
how much of each
item they can take!
Figure 1.7 Photo of Food Pantry operations at San Francisco Community School.
•
If you are using the farmer’s market set-up, you should designate one student or
adult volunteer to go around to all the tables and tape up numbers in front of each
item so the patrons will know how many of each they may take.
•
When the San Francisco Food Bank delivers the food, the truck driver will give you
an inventory of the all the food items with suggested amounts for distribution. If
no amount is specified, try to give one item to
each patron.
o If you are planning to have volunteers
assemble Pre-Packed Bags, make sure
that everyone knows how many of
each item to include in each bag.
•
Have volunteers sort through fruits and
vegetables to remove any spoiled produce.
Make sure you have gloves (non-latex in case
of allergies) available. Put the spoiled produce
in your school’s Green Bin.
o It is important to remember that this
food was donated to the San Francisco
Food Bank, and might not always look
as nice as the food in a grocery store.
However, fruit and vegetables with
only little bruises should still be given
out. Most of the food, even if it is a
If your school site does not already have
a Blue Recycling Bin (used for
cardboard, plastic, and glass) and Green
Compost Waste Bin (used for food,
plants, and organic matter), speak with
your principal about ordering one
through SF Recycling or your local
garbage collecting agency. For more
information, log on to:
http://www.sfrecycling.com.
Additional Contact Information:
ƒ SF Recycling & Disposal, Inc.
(415) 330-1400
ƒ Sunset Scavenger Company
(415) 330-1300
ƒ Golden Gate Disposal and
Recycling Company
(415) 626-4000
15
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
little damaged, will still be perfectly good to eat.
•
Identify volunteers for Box Duty. This is one of the most important stations.
Ideally, the volunteers on Box Duty will break down boxes before, during, and after
the Food Pantry. Since most of the food items come in cardboard boxes, there is
a lot of breaking down boxes into the recycling bin that needs to be done.
o Reuse some of the good boxes! Tell the volunteers on Box Duty to salvage
the some of the sturdier boxes. They should take these boxes up to the
Sign-In Table for the patrons to use (in case there are not enough bags).
Figure 1.8 Students at San Francisco Community School help
restock boxes of dry groceries.
•
Designate all other student and adult volunteer stations. Student Volunteers
should be primarily responsible for distributing the food and restocking their
designated item when needed. Adult Volunteers should be primarily
responsible for watching the Entrance/Exit points, Sign-In Table, and
monitoring the Food Pantry line.
16
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
o Some volunteers may need/want to double up on their stations. For
example, you may have one student giving out spinach and potatoes,
or you might have one adult volunteer responsible for both Box Duty
and the Green Bin. As your volunteers get used to the Food Pantry,
they will be able to take on more responsibility.
•
Set high expectations for volunteers, as you do for your staff. Do not hesitate
to let them go if the relationship is not working out. But be sure to find growth
and training opportunities for volunteers who really succeed. 9
; Showtime:
Start exactly on time. Do not start earlier just because people are already lining up.
When the time comes to open up the Food Pantry for distribution, make sure that
everyone who is waiting in line has already signed in at the Sign-In Table.
•
As people arrive, the volunteer at the entrance should be directing them over
to the Sign-In Table. If people did not bring their own bags, let them take an
extra bag or box, but remind them kindly to please bring their own bags next
time.
•
There should always be a volunteer at the head of the line. This volunteer
should only let 3 or 4 people go through the Food Pantry at a time. Avoid
causing congestion (usually around the vegetables section in the Community
Food Pantry model), and try to keep things running smoothly.
•
After people go through the line and are on their way out the Exit, have a
volunteer (preferably a student) remind them to come back again next week or
month.
•
For the first couple weeks of operation, you might also want to encourage the
patrons to tell their family and friends.
•
If you see someone you know, or someone who looks interested, ask if they
would like to come volunteer sometime. (Remember: The more volunteers you
have, the less running around you have to do!)
•
If for some reason, you are not going to have the Food Pantry next
week/month, be sure to tell everyone, patrons and volunteers. (You do not
want people showing up because they did not know that the Food Pantry had
been cancelled!) You can also give out flyers and put up a sign in a noticeable
place with the updated information.
ExCEL After School Programs, How to Create A Successful After School
Program: A Resource Guide, 74.
9
17
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
; Afterwards:
Make sure all the volunteers know that they are expected to help clean-up after the
Food Pantry. You do not want to get stuck cleaning-up after everyone has left!
•
All the tables need to be cleaned off and returned to wherever they came
from
•
Sometimes there are extra food items that need to be put away. It is best
when this food can be stored in the school cafeteria/kitchen.
•
The San Francisco Food Bank recommends the food be stored in a dry, cool
place and at least three inches off the ground.
•
Collect the Sign-In Sheet from the Sign-In Table (which should also have been
put away) and keep it in a safe place. You want to keep all of your records.
Not only can this documentation help you qualify for additional grants and
FEMA funding later on, but you will also need to fill out a Monthly Food Pantry
Report for the San Francisco Food Bank. This form will ask for the dates of
distribution this month and for the number of people served each time. This
form should be returned to the San Francisco Food Bank (by email, fax or mail)
by the end of each month. To view the report template, please see page 25.
•
It is helpful to make yourself a Food Pantry Binder where you can keep all of
these Sign-In Sheets.
•
When everything has been cleaned-up and put away, remember to say THANK
YOU to all of the volunteers and always remind people to come help out again
next week/month!
•
CONGRATULATIONS ON A JOB WELL DONE!
"I really enjoyed working at the Food
Pantry. It was pretty hard sometimes, but it
was good to know that I was helping people.
I feel better about myself after doing this."
- Ozzie, age 12
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ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
; Continued Service Activities
There a lot of ways to enhance your Food Pantry. Here are a few suggestions:
•
Chart how many cans or pounds of food are needed and received by the San
Francisco Food Bank in order to serve their target population.
•
Take a field trip to visit the San Francisco Food Bank!
•
Start a Mentoring Program with the Student Volunteers. Have the students
who have been working at the Food Pantry buddy up with a younger student
who has not yet participated in the Food Pantry. This is a great way to
increase the number of student volunteers. It also helps foster healthy
friendships among students!
•
Start a Cooking Class with the left over food items to teach students how to
make delicious, quick and easy meals from the food they get at the Food
Pantry.
•
Create a Cook Book of the recipes. Student volunteers can distribute the Cook
Book to patrons of the Food Pantry and families in the community.
•
Learn about the food pyramid and nutritional needs of children and adults.
•
Read food labels to find out serving quantities and nutritional values.
•
Study the effect of hunger on student achievement in school and on adults
trying to enter the workforce.
•
Discuss the effects of malnutrition on physical health and well-being.
•
Conduct a demographic and economic study of people who are hungry in your
community.
•
Compare the nutritional value of different foods and the associated costs.
•
Create a statistical chart to compare national and local statistics on hunger;
discuss how statistics can be used in an anti-hunger campaign.
•
Look at and compare the statistics for poverty and hunger in different
countries.
•
Interview a city council member or deputy about the government’s role in
providing services for people in need.
"It was fun to get to know people. I learned how
cool it is to help people. I would like to do it
again."
— Malik, age 11
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ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
Works Cited
Berger, Kaye. The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical
Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, & Social
Action. Free Spirit Publishing Inc., Minneapolis, MN, 2004.
ExCEL After School Programs. How to Create A Successful After School
Program: A Resource Guide. San Francisco Unified School District,
San Francisco, 2006.
Lang, Susan S. Hungry young people are more likely to attempt suicide,
suffer from depression and do poorly in school, studies at Cornell find. Cornell
News, April 25, 2002. http://www.news.cornell.edu/April02/hunger.kids.ssl.html.
July 31, 2008.
Lewis, Barbra A. The Kids Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service
Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference. Free Spirit
Publishing, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, 1995.
San Francisco Food Bank. A Look at Hunger in San Francisco: Neighborhood
Profiles of Hunger and Food Programs. San Francisco Food Bank, San
Francisco, 2007.
20
ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
San Francisco Food Bank currently has Healthy Children Pantries located at
the following sites:
Schools:
Bessie Carmichael Elementary School
Bret Harte Elementary School
Bryant Elementary School @ Mission Club
House
Cesar Chavez Elementary School
Cleveland Elementary School
Daniel Webster Elementary School
El Dorado Elementary School
E.R. Taylor Elementary School
Everett Middle School
Francis S. Key Elementary School
Hillcrest Elementary School
Horace Mann Middle School
John Muir Elementary School
Junipero Serra Elementary School
Leonard Flynn Elementary School
Malcolm X Elementary School
M.L.K. Middle School
Marshall Elementary School
Monroe Elementary School
Paul Revere Elementary School
San Francisco Community School
ƒ
Sheridan Elementary School
Spring Valley Elementary School
Starr King Elementary School
Tenderloin Elementary School
Visitation Valley Elementary School
Willie L. Brown, Jr. Academy
Head Starts:
Jean Jacobs head Start
Mission Head Start, Capp Street
OMI Head Start
Nonprofits:
Canon Barcus Community House
Curran House
Edgewood Family Center
Heritage Homes
Homeless Prenatal Program
La Raza Community Resource Center
Mariposa Gardens
Sunset Youth Services
Visitation Valley Boys and Girls Club
Whitney Young Child Development Center
Please note these Food Pantries are only available for participants in each
agency’s programs and are not open to the public.
Adapted from the San Francisco Food Bank’s Healthy Children Pantry Program © 2007 by the San
Francisco Food Bank.
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ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
Food Pantry Planning Worksheet
1) WHICH TYPE OF FOOD PANTRY WILL YOU HAVE?
◊ School Food Pantry
◊ Community Food Pantry
2) HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SERVE?
◊ 50 Families
◊ 150 Families
◊ 100 Families
◊ 200 Families
3) WHERE WILL THE FOOD PANTRY BE LOCATED?
◊ At School?
◊ Cafeteria?
◊ Outside?
◊ Class Room?
◊ Gymnasium?
◊ Community Center?
◊ Other Possibilities?
4) WHEN WILL THE FOOD PANTRY BEGIN? WHEN WILL IT END?
Date(s) of Food Pantry________________________________________
Time(s) of Food Pantry________________________________________
6) TOOLS AND MATERIALS NEEDED FOR FOOD PANTRY
A.___________________________________________________
B.___________________________________________________
C.___________________________________________________
D.___________________________________________________
E.___________________________________________________
Adapted from Service-Learning in Afterschool Programs: Resources for Afterschool Educators, Copyright © 2006 by Youth
Service California
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ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student-Run Food Pantry
7) PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO CAN BE RESOURCES AND
VOLUNTEERS:
A.___________________________________________________
B.___________________________________________________
C.___________________________________________________
D.___________________________________________________
E.___________________________________________________
8) WHAT ARE POTENTIAL OBSTACLES IN THIS FOOD PANTRY?
HOW CAN YOU OVERCOME THEM?
OBSTACLE
SOLUTION
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
9) WHAT ARE THE DESIRED OUTCOMES OF THIS FOOD PANTRY?
(FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THE YOUTH)
A.___________________________________________________
B.___________________________________________________
C.___________________________________________________
D.___________________________________________________
E.___________________________________________________
F.___________________________________________________
Adapted from Service-Learning in Afterschool Programs: Resources for Afterschool Educators, Copyright © 2006 by Youth
Service California
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ExCEL After School Programs Guide to Starting a Student Run Food Pantry
Pre-Food Pantry Check List
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
Confirm delivery time for the San Francisco Food Bank
Food Pantry informational flyer posted up around school
5-10 students who have expressed interest in volunteering
3-5 adult volunteers who have expressed interest in volunteering
3-5 tables set up where the Food Pantry will be taking place
Food Pantry Sign-In Sheet
Numbers and tape to specify distribution amount for each item
Scissors/box cutter for opening boxes
Plastic gloves (non-latex in case of allergies)
Extra paper and plastic bags
Put Garbage, Recycling, and Green Bins in appropriate places
Post-Food Pantry Check List
∆ Put extra food items in a dry, safe place
∆ Return tables
∆ Collect Sign-In Sheet to keep in Food Pantry Binder
∆ Put away materials like scissors, box cutter, tape, and plastic gloves
∆ Collect signs designating the amount patrons can take to save and reuse
next time
∆ Finish breaking down all cardboard boxes
∆ Put Garbage, Recycling, and Green Bins away
∆ Pick up any food or wrapping left around
∆ Say THANK YOU to all of your student and adult volunteers
∆ Remind everyone (volunteers and patrons) to come again next week!
24
Pantry Program
Weekly Service Numbers
Monthly Report Form
Name of Agency:
_______________________
Month:
At the end of every distribution, please write in the total number of households served by your
pantry program. By the last day of the month, please e-mail or fax this form to your San
Francisco Food Bank representative at 282-1909. Thank you.
Week Number
Date(s) of Distribution
Total Households Served
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Comments:
____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
900 Pennsylvania Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107
Telephone: (415) 282-1900 Facsimile: (415) 282-1909 www.sffoodbank.org
25
Sample of a Student– Created Pantry Flier
27