Food shelves have been intentionally reaching out to their shoppers to find ways to make their services better.
From holding focus groups and one-on-one meetings with shoppers, to hosting community meals, food shelves are getting creative about inviting in new voices.
“I’m hoping that constant interaction starts to build that trust,” said Stacie Loegering, executive director of the Emergency Food Pantry in Fargo, North Dakota.
FFEN has been providing food shelves, like the one Loegering oversees, with the support and tools they need to gather shopper feedback and put it into action.
“Through this experience I realized setting up an ongoing process to gather and respond to feedback is vital,”
Stacie Loegering, executive director, Emergency Food Pantry
We’ve spent the last year working with five food shelves as part of the Engaging Community Voice in Food Shelf Decision Making pilot and now, we’re looking to partner with more.
“Our goal is to provide and refine tools that make it easier for food shelf leaders to center their work around the experience people have when accessing food,” said Katie Bull, FFEN’s director of programs.
For Loegering, the pilot experience was an opportunity to hear real life stories. One shopper shared how she felt after being told she’d taken more than her quota of tomato sauce because there was no clear signage. She said a second staff member quickly stepped in and it was their compassion that encouraged her to continue using the food shelf.
Loegering said there’s value in letting those experiences guide future staff and volunteer training as well as decisions about food shelf operations.
“Through this experience I realized setting up an ongoing process to gather and respond to feedback is vital,” Loegering said. “We are excited to implement ongoing feedback and connection with those we serve.”
FFEN is now accepting applications for the second phase of the pilot project which is set to kick off in October.
