Resources for Hunger Relief Agencies

On this page you can view an extensive index of other valuable online resources.


 We are excited to roll out our new online Food Bank Certification Course! Take the course at your own pace, whenever it is convenient for you. Our goal is to make sure you have the knowledge and skills you need about the range of topics that contribute to a strong food bank.

 The Food Bank Certification Course is a series of six videos supported by a workbook. The videos are interactive in how they interweave information with quizzes and opportunities for reflection. Grab a pen or pencil and be ready to write down your answers. While each video is around 30 minutes, be prepared to pause a video to give yourself more time to engage with the information.

You can access the videos by visiting the Food Bank Certification course on YouTube. You can watch individual videos by clicking on the links below. While you can watch them in any order, there are occasional references to information presented in prior videos.

 Welcome (2:38)

 Nonprofit essentials (32 minutes)

 Food banking (22 minutes)

Volunteers (24 minutes)

Food safety (29 minutes)

Forms (32 minutes)

Once you have completed the videos, take time to review your workbook before taking the exam. 

Don't forget the workbook. Follow along, take notes and answer questions as you go. Link to the workbook here. The exam will be sent to you on request. 


Applying for SAM

As more federal funds become available through the State or other entities, it's critical to be registered with SAM, System for Award Management.

What are these entities? How do you apply?

Please see the handout and videos created by the WFC for your information. SAM - System for Award Management  to receive federal funds: SAM and DUNS Video (10 mins)  |  Handout   

More information from WSDA on SAM: https://agr.wa.gov/services/food-access/hunger-relief-agency-hub/food-assistance-contract-requirements7.13.21 PowerPoint

Food Banks should use NAICS Code: 624210 https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/?code=624210

Remember, this process is entirely FREE to you. It is FREE to register in SAM. It is FREE to get help with your registration from their supporting Federal Service Desk at www.fsd.gov or by telephone at 866-606-8220 (toll free).


Community-Based Organization Disaster Response Preparedness Toolkit Presented by Nancy Bacon

Download the “Disaster Planning for Nonprofits” guide

This is a 33-page guide that will serve as a reference tool for you. The recording from the training is HERE. It is 75 minutes long. Our course webpage will remain active into the foreseeable future.

In case you need this info to make the case for folks to invest in disaster planning... 

https://www.brinknews.com/the-value-of-disaster-planning-outweighs-its-cost-sixfold/

“Get Ready for a Disaster” Resources

GUIDE
Nonprofit Disaster Planning Guide

CLASS RESOURCES
PowerPoint handout for class
Recording

TOOLS
Instructions for online tools

Document
People – contacts
Resources – partners
Inventories

Continuity of Operations Planning Tools
COOP by DISASTER
COOP by TASK


EFAP Spring Meetings: (created for the 21-23 Biennium)

How to Hold an EFAP Spring Meeting 

How to Hold an EFAP Spring Meeting on ZOOM Training with Tom Lang

To see when Spring meetings are occurring in your County - Please see Quicklinks on the front page of our site. 


COVID-19 Resources: 

Guidance Sheets and Resources: 

Please see the front page of our website for our newly developed Guidance Sheets and additional resources that support these topics: 

  • Masks and Face Coverings
  • Accepting Donated Foods
  • When Staff or Volunteers have COVID Symptoms
  • Distributing Food Indoors 
  • Distributing Food Outdoors

 RE-EMERGENCE LEARNING SERIES with support from WSDA

 Volunteer Management: How to Build a Volunteer Community with Virginia Lang 

Recordings:

Part 1: Planning

Part 2: Elements of a volunteer program

Part 3: Leadership

Workbook

Volunteer program elements – your ideas

Nonprofit Financial Strategy in Response to Crisis 

If you were unable to join us for the Nonprofit Financial Strategy In Response to Crisis training, the recording and some additional resources that we reviewed in the session are below:

  • Recording (1:38)
  • Internal Profits and Subsidies video (7 minutes). Since there was so much interest in this topic, Nancy pulled out, from a longer session, Scott talking about matrix mapping and internal profits/subsidies. Here is the article that explains this topic in greater detail.
  • Funding Forecasting tool (source: Peter Drury). Fundraising expert/nonprofit leader Peter Drury has shared this tool with nonprofits in the past. I think it addresses Scott’s point to forecast funding sources. You may find it helpful.

Information on how to apply to DUNS and SAM, plus PPP loan forgiveness process. 

 Thanks to WSDA for sponsoring this training and Nancy Bacon Consulting.


Volunteer Management During COVID-19 - presented by Ginny Lang

Volunteer Management during COVID - Call #1

Handouts:

Volunteer Management during COVID - Call #2

Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tSi3g3pLzoMPvK4G0ptkmuVxmoHtdPKw/view?usp=drive_web

 Handouts: 

 Volunteer Management during COVID - Call #3

Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xs-84-Mv8JXlq52ZXEZ1ziwDoxPPzN34/view?usp=drive_web

Handout: 


Below is an index of some of our favorite tools that we’ve found in our travels. We’ll look forward to continuing to bring you more tools as we discover them. Have a favorite tool that’s not listed? contact us

Index of Online Resources

  • Advocacy

  • Videos
  • WFC Publications & Materials
  • Board Development
  • Desktop Tools
  • Emergency Provision How-To's
  • Food Safety & Food Security
  • Fundraising & Grantwriting
  • Information on Hunger & Food Security Initiatives
  • Marketing
  • Nutrition
  • Online Resources for Printable Infant & Toddler Nutrition Materials
  • Organizational Strength & Capacity
  • Risk Management & Disaster Preparedness
  • Service Providers
  • Technology
  • Volunteer Resources

Conference Materials 

Forms Training Powerpoint

Boards Session Powerpoint

Food Banking 101

FUN Presentation Handout

Nonprofit Nuts & Bolts handout

Powerpoint Training

The Culture of Community Engagement in a Non-profit Environment

WFC Publications & Materials
 
Below you can view helpful publications and materials developed by the Washington Food Coalition  

  • Newsletter & eNewsletter 
 WFC regularly publishes Food for Thought which features stories and updates relevant to emergency food providers across the state. If you would like to subscribe to our print edition please let us know by contacting us.  WFC also offers a monthly eNewsletter to members. Join our FREE Email Mailing List 
  • Manuals

 Click here to access our Resource Manual Online Order Form & let us know which manuals you would like to receive via mail. 

 Best Practices: Innovation & Solutions Developed by Hunger Relief Agencies in Washington State

Developed as part of the Emergency Food Assistance Program’s Capacity Building Project, this catalog features best practices which can be replicated by emergency food providers. Catalog profiles are identified with visual indicators representing food banks, meal programs, distribution centers, and ideas which everyone can use. This fantastic resource was redeveloped and re-released in 2012. You can view and download this manual on the Kindle store here

 Food Safety: Insight & Information on Safe Food Practices for Hunger Relief Agencies in Washington State

This is an in-depth manual on all the information needed to establish and run a quality food program that provides safe, reliable food for the customers that are served. It covers food-borne illness, sanitary surroundings, risk management, safe food handling, and re-packaging bulk foods. Ideal for anyone running a food program who wants to ensure they're protecting those that they're serving.You can view and download this manual on the Kindle store here

 Food Banking: The Basics of Providing Food To Your Community

This manual was created to aid and equip those who are passionate about serving their hungry neighbors. Meeting the needs of the hungry is a noble and wonderful endeavor, but it can be an overwhelming task to take on. If you want to start an emergency food program, here is a manual to help get you started (or continue on) and to help you succeed. 

Special Dietary Needs: Information & Tools For Hunger Relief Agencies To Meet The Needs Of Every Diet
This emergency food manual examines some of the more frequently found conditions and diseases along with their impact on the diet. The manual covers long-term diseases, such as chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, and AIDS, and different stages in the life cycle. The situation may vary in severity, ranging anywhere from mild cases of lactose intolerance to severe allergies to gluten, in the case of celiac disease. This manual is meant to act as a guide, providing basic recommendations for foods that are okay to consume as well as foods that should be avoided as much as possible.  

Ingredients for Success: Tips for Creating and Structuring a Tribal Food Voucher Program

This guide is prepared as a companion to Recipes for Success: 97 Innovations & Solutions Developed by Emergency Food Providers in Washington State, with a focus on best practices for the Washington State Tribal Food Voucher Program (TFVP). This guide highlights responses to over 10 different key questions tribal staff must answer in administering the program. The guide is a great start for new staff as well as veteran staff who are contemplating changes in the program. Download it now by clicking here.

 Handouts 

  • Protections Afforded by the Good Samaritan Act
    This is a legal document laying out information about the Good Samaritan Act protects donors and what limitations it has. This is a great handout to share with donors and farmers. Click here to download this resource.

 View our online library of various publications below

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 Board Development Resources:

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Desktop Tools:

  • Washington Connection, excellent online service to screen clients for eligibility in multiple programs-save this link to screen all clients! www.washingtonconnection.org

  • Babblefish, listing of online language translators. www.babblefish.com

  • Meet-O-Matic, propose and schedule meetings online and invite participants using your own email system, then monitor responses. www.meetomatic.com

  • Merriam-Webster, dictionary and thesaurus with audio pronunciation. www.m-w.com

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Emergency Food Provision How-To’s:

  • Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) offers over 20 different training documents regarding civil rights and program flow charts. Click here to view a list of these documents and learn how to receive them.

  • Loon Lake Food Bank Program Manual: Complete sample program manual on how to operate a food bank. Click here to download

  • Resources For Meal Programs: A number of helpful tools from Meals Partnership Coalition. www.mealspartnership.org

  • Planning for Summer Meals, A Resource Toolkit updated yearly for Communities Across Washington by Parent Help 123 (a program of Within Reach). www.parenthelp123.org

  • Charity Food Programs That Can End Hunger In America, by John Arnold, Second Harvest Gleaners Food Bank of West Michigan , 2004. www.endhungerinamerica.org

  • Hungering for Disaster Preparedness:  Strategies, Resources and Tips for Food Pantries and Their Coalitions, available on Solid Ground's Publication page  www.solid-ground.org

  • Serving Up Justice:  How to Design an Emergency Feeding Program and Build Community Food Security, by Caroline Fanning and Lani Mc'leod, available from www.WhyHunger.org

  • Working With Farmers:  Lunch 'n Learn Webinar from 11/14/14
    Click here to download the Powerpoint Presentation
    Click here to view a recording of the webinar
  • Summer Meals: Lunch 'n Learn Webinar from 2/11/15
    Click here to download the Powerpoint Presentation

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Food Safety & Food Security

  • Food Service Ruleguide to food safety standards from the Washington Department of Health. www.doh.wa.gov

  • USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline, Food safety questions? They have answers. 1-888-674-6854

  • Top 50 Global Food Security Blogs. Despite the commercial and political value inherent in food policy, safety and security, the top 50 global food security blogs listed below all point to health as the bottom line.

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Fundraising:

  • The Grassroots Fundraising Journal, fundraising tips and tools. 1-888-458-8588, www.grassrootsfundraising.org

  • How to Succeed in Fundraising by Really Trying, tips from philanthropist Lewis B. Cullman on how to execute a fundraising campaign. Witty and brief, available at www.LewisCullman.com.

  • Feinstein Foundation, has given away $1 million each spring for the past ten years to hunger fighting agencies as part of its National Challenge. www.feinsteinfoundation.org

  • Northwest Development Officers Association (NDOA), provides comprehensive training opportunities and support for nonprofit fundraisers. www.ndoa.org

  • Mt. Rainier Coffee Co., Mount Rainier Coffee Company is proud to partner with non-profit organizations that make an impact on our communities. www.mtrainiercoffee.com

 

Grantwriting:

  • Download the Grant Proposal Self-Assessment Tool by clicking here.
  • Foundation Centerfeatures information and resources on grants, catalogue of nonprofit literature, and search for funders in your area. www.foundationcenter.org

  • MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, national nonprofit agency that allocates funding to prevent and alleviate hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds. www.mazon.org

  • Philanthropy Northwest, association that promotes effectiveness in philanthropy. The ‘Looking for a Grant?’ page features tips and resources for grant-seekers. www.philanthropynw.org

  • Potlatch Foundation, a Native-led grantmaking foundation and leadership development organization offering culturally appropriate training and technical assistance to build the capacity of grantmakers, Tribes, Native groups, and other Native grant seekers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Western Montana. www.potlatchfund.org

  • Puget Sound Grantwriters Association, Offers a variety of resources and workshops for grantwriters and nonprofits looking for grantwriting help. www.grantwriters.org

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Information on Hunger & Food Security Initiatives:

  • Hungry in Washington Report — Released yearly by Children's Alliance. Click here to find new and historical versions.
  • Feeding America — The Nation’s Food Bank Network, the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the country. Works through a nationwide network of distribution centers. Provides information and statistics about hunger and foodbanking. www.feedingamerica.org
  • WHY Hunger (Formerly World Hunger Year), WHY, is a national and international leader in the fight against hunger and poverty, with an emphasis on supporting grassroots organizations. www.whyhunger.org
  • The Faces of Hunger & Those Who Fight It — Presentatio n by Earl Hall, WFC Board Member

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Marketing:

  • Food Stamp Program Photo Gallery, offers free photographs for use in communicating Program nutrition education and outreach messages. snap.nal.usda.gov/photo-gallery
  • Smart Chart, a planning tool which helps nonprofits develop high-impact communications strategies. www.smartchart.org
  • Stock.XCHNG, one of the leading free stock photography sites on the web with over 200,000 photos by more than 15,000 photographers. www.sxc.hu

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Nutrition:

  • WSU Extension Nutrition Education, programs offered to help Washington residents make healthier food choices, extend their food resources, manage their diabetes to live a healthier life and handle food safely to keep their families well. extension.wsu.edu/health
  • The Students Guide to Health, How Kids and Teens Can Keep Their Body Healthynursingschool.org/the-students-guide-to-health/
  • United Tribes Technical College LandGrant Program, offers educational materials through their resources page including "The Four Directions to Eating Lean and Being Lean" and "Buffalo and Wellness: Lessons for Youth." landgrant.uttc.edu

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Online Resources for Printable Infant and Toddler Nutrition Materials:

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Organizational Strength & Capacity:

  •  CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, offers resources on everything from board development to budgeting. www.compasspoint.org
  • Free Management Library, online library with over 75 searchable topics on activities necessary to plan, organize, lead, and coordinate activities in an organization. www.managementhelp.org
  • Fieldstone Alliance, practical nonprofit publications on a range of management and community organizing topics. www.fieldstonealliance.org
  • How to Form and Maintain a Nonprofit in Washington State, free publication from the King County Bar Association with legal advice and sample bylaws, See this and other publications at: www.kcba.org/publications
  • IKNOW, Interactive Knowledge for Nonprofit Organizations Worldwide, a clearinghouse for links to websites containing nonprofit information. www.iknow.org
  • Innovation Network, national organization offering web-based tools and program planning, with some resources available for free to those who register. www.innonet.org
  • Kellogg Foundation, offers toolkits on communication, evaluation, and policy, and a host of other free publications. www.wkkf.org
  • Nonprofit Facilities Financing, program of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC), helps organizations access below-market rate interest loans — through bonds — to fund a wide variety of projects. www.wshfc.org
  • Third Sector New England, provides support, training and management resources to strengthen individual nonprofit organizations and to build the capacity of the nonprofit community. Visit the Articles and other Resources page: www.tsne.org

 

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Risk Management & Disaster Preparedness:

  • Alliance of Nonprofits for Insurance, Risk Retention Group, publishes a number of free guides to risk management and understanding your insurance needs, for example, developing a vehicle safety program and appropriate policies. http://www.ani-rrg.org/
  • Washington Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, WAVOAD, works within the state to improve responses to disaster situations through collaboration among its members. www.wavoad.org
  • Washington Military Department: Emergency Management Division, offers preparedness videos and information for a variety of situations as well as updates on emergency conditions. www.emd.wa.gov/preparedness

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Service Providers:

  • Citrine Health, Citrine Health is a non-profit agency in Snohomish County that helps individuals and families apply for food assistance and state health insurance programs over the phone and in person. www.citrinehealth.org
  • Columbia Legal Services, nonprofit organization employing lawyers and legal workers who provide legal assistance to low-income and special needs people and organizations in Washington. www.columbialegal.org
  • Connect Up (Formerly Community Voice Mail),  a program of SpringWire makes a phone number with voice mail possible for thousands of people each year. www.cvm.org
  • Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations, connects nonprofit organizations statewide with free business legal counsel through volunteer attorneys. www.waaco.org
  • WithinReach, statewide organization providing resources for maternal, child, and family health. Operates several toll-free information and referral lines. www.withinreachwa.org
  • Washington Connection, online portal where clients can find out what services and benefits are available to their family. www.washingtonconnection.org

 

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Technology:

  • Del.icio.us, social bookmarks manager which allows you to save and access bookmarked websites from any web connection. del.icio.us
  • Ebase, free database program, designed specifically for non-profits by nonprofits. www.ebase.org
  • Idealware, free candid Consumer-Reports-style reviews and articles about software of interest to nonprofits. www.idealware.org
  • NPower, technology-related technical assistance for nonprofits, including classes and online technology assessment and planning tools, www.npower.org
  • Survey Monkey, create professional online surveys quickly and easily, free for small surveys. www.surveymonkey.com
  • Tech Soup, a nonprofit technical support organization that offers nearly free software by some of the biggest companies and provides a monthly update with tips. www.techsoup.org

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  Volunteer Resources:

  • Congressional Hunger Center, non-profit anti-hunger leadership training organization located in Washington , DC . The Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program places participants with local hunger-fighting organizations around the country for 6 months. www.hungercenter.org
  • Energize Inc, Offers a variety of resources and training for volunteer managers. www.energizeinc.com
  • Idealist, a comprehensive networking site for nonprofit organizations and volunteers. www.idealist.org
  • National Volunteer Week, typically in April, is a great time to recognize and show appreciation for volunteers. www.pointsoflight.org
  • Volunteer Match, a leading website for connecting volunteers and nonprofit volunteer opportunities, www.volunteermatch.org.  Craig’s List is also a good place to list, geo.craigslist.org/iso/us/wa, and your local United Way may also assist with volunteer recruitment.
  • Volunteer Management Resources from Seattle Food Committee: http://seattlefood.squarespace.com/volunteer-management/

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Technical Assistance:
WFC provides on-call technical assistance to the state’s emergency food providers on a range of topics, including everything from food safety to fundraising. Simply contact us and we’ll provide as much information as we can.
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