Food Distribution, What do we do with all of this?

Notes from Sandy Frost

Considerations: Identify existing and untapped resources
Refrigeration and warehousing: Salvation Army, community centers, churches
Scaling up and for profit: Introduced into the market system. Community college flea market, farmers markets
Relationships and level of involvement: Identifying what can be given, materially and over time.
Food Bank is for warehousing and distribution. Any hold-over needs storage and refrigeration.
Food Pantries are for individual need.
Corner Stores are for small volume, irregular need based.
Surplus: Requires processing to remain viable.
Who are you picking it for?
In addition to neighborhood gleaning, offer field gleaning, weekdays.
Take harvest to the distributor.
Mini farm tables or markets in neighborhoods.

• Tulare Food Bank
  Nutrition On the Go sites, bagged
  Weekend Backpacks for kids. Firm packable foods, fruits, to feed kids until they go back to school.

Organizing distribution priorities:

Food pantries get USDA, surplus, purchase from commodity programs.
Building trust and relationships with neighborhoods and local community so most urgent needs can be met.
Building a community network of food security. Gold Country Gleaners are the liaison.