Service model offers dignity to shoppers, reduces waste
Inside the doors of the C.R.O.S.S. Center in Foley was a waiting room lined with chairs. Food shelf visitors sat down and completed a questionnaire indicating the types of foods they would prefer.
People could choose a few items from a small shelf in the waiting area offering fresh foods, but the rest remained out of sight and accessible only to volunteers.
Today, thanks to a partnership with FFEN and SuperShelf, the experience is vastly different.
People accessing the food shelf grab a shopping cart and shop the shelves themselves. They get to see the deli salads, they can view the pork offerings, they can choose the apples they would like and look for themselves at the condition of the bananas.
“I wish people could just see… how the people used to come in, sad and embarrassed coming in for the food shelf,” said Jennifer Folkema, director of C.R.O.S.S. Center. “Now people are talking with each other, sharing ideas, they’re smiling and they’re at ease when they come in here and it’s such a great feeling.”
With support and guidance from FFEN and SuperShelf, Folkema brought together volunteers and board members to transform the site and the shopper experience. She was able to move to the “shopper choice” food shelf model she wanted, saved tens of thousands of dollars on cooler replacement and energy costs. She also added more fresh foods while creating a welcoming environment.
“I wish people could just see… how the people used to come in, sad and embarrassed coming in for the food shelf. Now people are talking with each other, sharing ideas, they’re smiling and they’re at ease when they come in here and it’s such a great feeling.”
Jennifer Folkema, director of C.R.O.S.S. Center
“Having had to use a food shelf myself, I needed the clients to be able to have dignity and feel as normal of a shopping experience as possible,” Folkema said. “Keeping everything clean and organized, having it where the fresh produce is first just like when you walk into a grocery store, those are the things that catch your eye.”
Overcoming challenges and reducing food waste
The transformation was not without its bumps, but Folkema persevered.
At first, Folkema said, there was hesitation on the part of some volunteers and the board to move to a shopping model where people could choose from the shelves. The FFEN staff, she said, were willing to improve the space with any model of service but helped her advocate for one that welcomed people to shop for their own food.
“Before, people really couldn’t see what they were getting so they took what they could out of every category,” Folkema said. “Now we hear a lot of times, ‘I’m not going to take that today, I’m going to save it for somebody else who can use it. They’re literally only taking what they need.”
That, Folkema said, reduces waste, makes the food on the shelves go further and creates a more friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
Getting the right mix
To ensure the food shelf was supplying the right mix of food offered, Folkema received FFEN’s Food Sourcing Analysis report. This report helped her gauge how the site was doing at providing a variety of foods and compared it to statewide metrics.
With the help of the report, Folkema said she started swapping out canned goods that did not move as well, for fresh fruits and vegetables that were in demand.
FFEN also supported Folkema as she surveyed food shelf shoppers. The survey showed the need to provide foods familiar to people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
“It’s important to let food shelves know (that they shouldn’t) just assume that’s what folks like to eat,” she said. “Maybe ask.”
The data, she said, has helped to inform ordering for the food shelf and makes it easier to explain the needs of the food shelf to the board, funders, and the larger community.
Adding fresh foods
“We can do better, and we want to do better for humanitarian reasons and then it was the dollars. It was a lot more sensible use of their money; the board has a fiduciary responsibility to spend money wisely.”
Carolyn Kohrs, FFEN co-founder and a pro-bono project manager volunteer
As C.R.O.S.S. talked about adding more fresh foods, discussions grew about replacing the aging walk-in cooler.
Carolyn Kohrs, one of FFEN’s founders and a pro-bono project manager volunteer helping oversee the C.R.O.S.S. transformation, recommended an alternative to the walk-in cooler: individual, moveable coolers with glass doors that would allow shoppers to view available foods. The recommended coolers were a 50% savings over replacement of the walk-in and annually save the food shelf an estimated $7,000 in energy costs.
“We can do better, and we want to do better for humanitarian reasons and then it was the dollars,” Kohrs said. “It was a lot more sensible use of their money; the board has a fiduciary responsibility to spend money wisely.”
Folkema went back to the board who had already approved the walk-in replacement and when she presented the cost-savings measures, the board unanimously approved the individual coolers and freezers instead.
Intentional design
Asmita Kerkar, a pro bono design volunteer with FFEN, put together floor plans that would support the food shelf’s new strategies. She recommended a central produce island that shoppers can see when they come through the doors, just behind it are the glass-door coolers and freezers. She used the food shelf’s FSA report to see what foods were most important to shoppers at the site and prioritized those visually.
“Getting that opinion of “this is what I want to see in my food shelf”, and valuing that opinion makes people feel respected and heard,” Kerkar said.
Additionally, she said, when people walk through the door and visually can see the foods they are most likely to need, they’re instantly at ease.
“I think about myself, when I’m really hungry and going shopping, when the first thing I see is what I’ve been thinking about the whole time… the moment you see that you don’t feel as hungry.”
For Folkema, the transformation has been powerful as has been the support she has received from FFEN.
“You guys are still with me six months later, you just didn’t go away,” she said. “That continued support is very, very important.”
Because of donor support, FFEN can work with food shelves like C.R.O.S.S., and this year is on track to work with 299 other food shelves across the state. Now through Nov. 21, your donation to FFEN will be doubled, please support this critical work by making a gift today.
