The New Hampshire Food Bank Takes to the Streets!

Despite serving over 400 agencies and programs across the state, there remain many areas with high levels of need.  Even in areas where agencies do provide assistance, clients may not always have access to food because many agencies are only open certain hours or days of the week.  Our Mobile Food Pantry serves to address this problem with inner-city food drops on a weekly basis when product is available.  Examples of food items brought to these drops are yogurt, onions, lettuce, in-season fruits, chips, and crackers.

Interested in sponsoring a Mobile Food Pantry drop?  While it takes little effort to sponsor a delivery, the event can have a huge impact.  Clients benefit from access to fresh produce, nutrition resources, and social service information while helping the NH Food Bank to maximize food quality and eliminate food waste.  If you would like to plan an event, please contact Connie or Kate in Agency Relations at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

How to Host the Mobile Food Pantry

Choose a Site

The site you choose must be safe for clients and accessible for the NH Food Bank truck.  Allow plenty of room for parking and a paved space to unload.  Parking lots work well.  If you plan to have an outdoor event, have a back-up plan for inclement weather.  You will want to plan to have a table set up for the distribution, as well as plastic or reusable bags for clients to collect their food.  Some clients will bring their own bags, but many will not have them.

Set a Date

Choose three preferred dates for distribution.  Once the NH Food Bank reviews your request, we will contact you with a finalized date and hour of delivery so that you may schedule volunteers.

Organize Volunteers

Volunteers are integral to the success of the Mobile Food Pantry.  They will meet the truck and help our driver to unload the food items, set out the product on tables, organize the distribution, help clients with their food, and help clean it all up at the end.

Advertise

Included in the Mobile Food Pantry packet that we will provide will be samle press releases, fliers, and contact lists to help you organize your event.  Hang posters, run an ad with your local newspaper or radio station, and distribute fliers to other local businesses.

Screen Clients

To ensure that the items provided go to those in need, we encourage you to screen clients.  Screening also gives you a better idea of how many people to expect and allows us to better determine how much food to send.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the food ready to eat and will it need refrigeration?
A: Items on the Mobile Food Pantry include typical items (i.e. canned goods, boxed pastas and cereals, and bottled beverages).  Our Mobile Food Pantry truck is not refrigerated, so there will never be any frozen or refrigerated items, although we will offer some types of produce.

Q: What is the amount of food per box and how many will it feed for how long?
A: Each box will contain approximately 12lbs. of food.  In addition there will be other items which clients can choose from, so the total amount of food to be distributed per client will vary between 12 and 35lbs.

Q: If there are leftovers, what happens to that food?
A: If your agency or sponsor has the capacity to store the excess food, then any leftovers will be left with you.  Otherwise, all items will be returned to the NH Food Bank for regular distribution on our shelves.

Q: Our group serves only 20 clients.  At $750 per delivery, our cost benefit is $37 per person.  What can we do about that?
A: The Mobile Food Pantry can accommodate up to 200 clients, and thus was designed with this capacity in mind.  For smaller groups, we will review on a case by case basis and determine whether to subsidize the cost or partner your group with another agency in your area.

For other questions, or to set up a delivery, contact Connie or Kate at 603-669-9725, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .