February 16th, 2010
Network Meeting
The South Coast Food Share Network Meeting is happening:
- Network Support Grants
- Share Cost Support Grants
- Food Repacking
- Customer Service
- Uniform Client Eligibility Standards
- Plant A Row
- Shopping Carts?
- And much more.
An Open Letter for Fresh Alliance Participants
The past few months the OFB Food Resource Developer, Rachel Dueker, has been traveling around in both metro and statewide visits. During these she has noticed a few trends popping up around Fresh Alliance. The program has grown considerably in both the workplace and in our local agencies and it can be difficult in keeping everyone aware of our policies. For this reason she has asked us to address these policies, to inform the newer members and serve as a refresher for the older ones.
Food Safety
- Please make sure tubs are clean and sanitized. A quick rinse does not suffice and tubs need to be cleaned before reuse in the standard bleach / water ratio solution.
- For pantries picking up at the store or receiving a delivery of FA product please make sure you have adequate volunteers to put food away. Please keep the handling of food at correct temp constant. If there are not enough volunteers to put away product please reschedule to a better time.
- Meat MUST remain in a freezer until handed out to clients. Repacked boxes should not contain meat if they are sitting prior to distribution. Please put frozen foods, especially meat, in as the client is receiving the box. Also if you leave cooler foods out, such as dips, sandwiches etc, please keep them in a cooler that can be closed when not been shopped in if a refrigerator is not on your shopping floor.
- In some recent pantry visits or chats with pantry folks, some volunteers want to extend out past our distribution dates. Please make sure all pantries have and understand the distribution chart. If you need additional charts please contact Chelsea as she has some available to send out to folks.
- For food quality and agreement with our grocery partners, meat is not to be held frozen for longer then 90 days. In our growing numbers in clients, realistically meat should not be held longer then 30 days to help supplement food boxes. This means that large packs of meat should not be held for months waiting for that family of 10 to come in. Our grocery partners are more then comfortable having a family of 2 get a large chicken or roast. The same goes for dairy, dairy should not be held frozen in pantries to make sure they have it available for the next week or next few weeks. Dairy is meant to move even if that means giving more out. We have very few specific requirements for freezing dairy, mostly around pick ups and storage. But it is the expectation that pantries will hand out dairy without extended storage. I do know that frozen dairy sometimes comes from OFB but this handling requirement is a request from the donors to Fresh Alliance and we need to honor that.
- NO REPACK OF FRESH ALLIANCE. Fresh Alliance is a supplemental program and stores will not keep pace with our need. The program is designed to boost food boxes, not fill them. While we all strive for the best equitable distribution possible, the diversity in these products does not always fit the mold. We have assured our donors that anything that comes from the direct grocery pick up will not be altered. I have had many pantry folks ask me about breaking down large yogurts, butter packs and family meat packs. The answer is no! The only exception to this is bagged bulk produce, where for example 2 bad apples or a moldy orange is removed. This exception does not extend to bagged salads or bagged spinach. Integrity to our standards for our donors is important, and if a pantry is unwilling to stick to this “No Repack Rule” on Fresh Alliance products, they will not receive any.
Brief Housekeeping
- For more Fresh Alliance receipts please contact Andrew Rodenbush. He will be the one to get them pulled and on your truck
- For distribution materials please contract Chelsea Cameron
- I am on the road frequently, but check messages throughout the day. To ensure you get my cell voicemail or to reach me directly please call 503-381-9239. My 229 extension will ring through to my cell. However if I can not pick up, it does not go to my cell voice mail. The easiest way to get me is to use the 381 number and leave a message on that directly or send me an email as I can also check that on the road.
- Mike and I will be calling to set up care plan meetings. Thank you to Rollie, Marlin and Cari for helping us walk through the process and creating a template that is flexible for all size RFBs.
2009 saw growth in donations in Fresh Alliance and I wanted to thank everyone. Folks making good relationships and connections in their stores are what have been helping keep FA donations constant. Thank You all for your hard work!
Rachel Dueker,
Food Resource Developer, Oregon Food Bank
Got any great recipes? Pantry Tips or Tricks? Let us know and you might see it in the News You Can Use!
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