Families in Transition has revamped its food pantry
Families in Transition, in partnership with Hannaford Supermarkets, launched a newly remodeled Families in Transition Food Pantry in Manchester last month, reimagined to resemble the look and feel of a traditional grocery store. Stephanie Savard, chief external relations officer at FIT, talked about the pantry’s unique concept.
How does the newly remodeled Families in Transition Food Pantry work?
It’s literally like a mini grocery store. When folks come in, there’s shopping carts and baskets. They check in at the check-in station, and then they can shop through the store. … There are two sort-of aisles — one for our breads and our desserts and bakery items, and then the next aisle is all of the pantry items, like pastas and canned foods. Then, as you move down the aisles, you come across the dairy section, a meat section and a produce section. Hannaford helped us with the purchasing of refrigerated fans so that it looks just like the produce department at a grocery store. It’s displayed beautifully, and folks can just walk up and pick the produce that they want. … People can either bring their own reusable bags, or we can put [the food] in boxes. As they’re leaving, they check out like you would with a cashier. … Hannaford even helped us with getting a huge food scale so that we can weigh the food and know how many pounds of food is donated on a regular basis. … People put their food on the scale and weigh it before they leave. Then, they bring all that good food home to their family.
How did this idea come about?
The Families in Transition Food Pantry was moved to a new location in December 2020. Because it was during Covid, we had to do it quickly. It did the job to get food in the hands of those who needed it, but it had a very warehouse-like feel to it. We really wanted to improve the customer service of the pantry. … We’ve had a long-standing relationship with Hannaford. They are the primary sponsor and donor of all of the fresh produce that we receive. We’ve continued to talk with them about how we can bring better services and better quality to the food pantry. They knew we wanted to do something different, and they really rose to the occasion when we talked about wanting to make it like a shopping experience and wanting to do a better job of inventorying the food that we receive from them. … This amazing donation by Hannaford allowed us to renovate the front portion of the food pantry to look like a mini grocery store.
How many families does the pantry serve?
Before the renovation, we were averaging about 400 unique households a month. Since the renovation, we’ve more than doubled, and we’re averaging about 900 a month. It used to be that people could come in daily or weekly, but we’ve seen such an increase that we had to switch to once a month because we were concerned that our food quantity couldn’t keep up with the pace. It’s hard to say whether the demand went up because of inflation — food, utility and gas prices are higher — or because people are feeling more comfortable coming to our pantry. I’d like to say it’s a combination of both.
What has the response been from families who have used the pantry so far?
The response has been so positive. It’s really bringing dignity and choice for those who are food-insecure. They can choose their own food as opposed to waiting in a line with a big box and just taking whatever is given to them. It’s an opportunity to respect that they know what’s best for their family and know how to meet their family’s needs.
Are other food pantries doing this?
We did some research, and there are definitely some facilities across the country that are doing this, but it’s not common. We’ve had some other shelters and food pantries in New Hampshire and in Maine reach out to us to ask if they could come tour our pantry because they’re interested in mimicking the model.
Is there anything you want to expand or improve on for the pantry in the future?
One thing is making sure that we have culturally diverse foods in our inventory. We serve a diverse population, and we want to make sure we’re getting the food that they want on their table. That can be tricky when you rely on donations, but we can do that through community food drives where we ask for a variety of ethnic foods, and by collaborating with local food stores and markets that serve different populations.
How can people help?
We always need volunteers to pick up the fresh produce from the grocery stores, sort it, and help in the pantry, checking in customers or helping customers with their shopping. People can learn about how to volunteer and sign up on our website, fitnh.org. Then, there’s donating — whether it’s cleaning out your own pantry at home or getting your friends or business or organization together to do a drive. We also have a “high needs” list on our website so that people can do drives specifically for those types of foods. If people would like to do an ethnic food-specific drive, we can get them a list of things we’d love to get for that.
Featured photo: Families in Transition Food Pantry. Courtesy photo.
