Developing innovative food shelf leaders ready to meet the evolving needs in their communities
FFEN Essentials Education Series
FFEN Essentials provides a unique food shelf management curriculum, tailored to exactly what food shelf leaders need.
With limited professional development to support the success of new and transitioning leaders, many small rural and urban food shelves, where the need is often the greatest, aren’t utilizing best practices to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Presented online, in real-time, content-rich modules ground participants in food sourcing, logistics, process improvement, and nonprofit management that position food shelf professionals to lead change in their organizations and communities.
“This was awesome. I will be having my staff sign up for upcoming sessions! I have a board meeting in 15 minutes and this session just became a new agenda item for me to discuss with them.”
Dom Korbel
Executive Director at Community Pathways of Steele County
Sustain & Nourish: Topic-Based Peer Learning
Explore timely topics with fellow food shelf leaders for peer connection and shared problem solving. Sessions will offer insights from food shelf leaders and sector partners while also highlighting ready-to-use resources and actionable tools.
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No cost training, available virtually the fourth Tuesday of each month (11:30am-1pm CST)
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Recommended for staff and volunteers leading daily food shelf operations.
Fresh Food First: Optimizing Food Shelf Operations
Gain advanced insights and strategies to develop sustainable, shopper-focused food programs, explore food sourcing and distribution methods with practical tools and resources, and learn best practices for managing fresh foods to minimize waste.
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No cost training, available virtually the second Tuesday of Feb, April, June, Aug, and Oct (11:30am-1pm CST)
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Recommended for staff and volunteers leading daily food shelf operations.
Beyond the Brown Bag: Hunger Relief Trends & Insights
Deepen your understanding of hunger relief and develop shopper-focused programs by exploring the definition of food insecurity, differences between food banks and food shelves, trends in hunger relief, and key resources for nonprofits.
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No cost training available available on-demand
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Recommended for new food shelf leaders, board members, volunteers.
Food Shelf Leader Cohort
Food shelf leaders often wear multiple hats and enter their positions with limited previous experience in the hunger relief sector. On a daily basis, they are responding to the constant demands of running a food shelf, leaving little time for planning, assessing operational effectiveness, or networking.
The FFEN Essentials: Food Shelf Leader Cohort offers participants a values-informed framework for improved organizational effectiveness, change management, and community engagement. This series is designed to spark collaboration, peer learning, and test out new leadership skills and promising practices with fellow food shelf leaders. Session activities include small group conversations, reflections, and problem-solving scenarios, intended to equip participants to advance their organization’s values and impact. The Food Shelf Leader Cohort is typically offered twice a year, in the spring and fall.
Contact programs@ffen.org or read our latest blog to learn more about the Food Shelf Leader Cohort.