Tag: food-pantry

You Can’t Solve Hunger with an “Us” vs. “Them” Attitude

At one of my previous food pantries, we had a volunteer who was perpetually cheerful, eternally welcoming to clients, and one of the most compassionate individuals I could have chosen for our team. This individual was also a client who regularly used our services.

They always made a special effort to greet the clients waiting in line two full hours before we opened. When I expressed my appreciation, this volunteer explained that as a shopper they loved our team’s welcoming habit of checking on those waiting in line.  They wanted all our visitors to feel the same way: like an equal, appreciated, and respected.  This client-volunteer’s efforts transformed our shoppers’ food pantry visits from a degrading and shameful experience into a moment of feeling dignified and respected.

Unfortunately, even in 2024, judgement, bias and “otherization” still permeate the policies and practices of many anti-hunger and community support organizations in the United States. 


 As an example, some anti-hunger leaders and organizations still discourage volunteering by their own clients.  Allowing clients to be insiders, they argue, increases the risk of conflict of interest, abuse of power, and manipulation of the food supply. 

In my years managing food pantries, I’ve seen all these unfortunate behaviors.  However, I’ve never once witnessed this type of behavior from client volunteers. I have regularly witnessed it from advantaged and entitled volunteers or non-profit supporters with no lived experience.  And too often, I’ve been instructed by leadership to ignore these negative behaviors, especially if confronting them risked alienating donors or friends of the “inner circle,” while also being responsible for ensuring my clients don’t violate the same rules. Despite all evidence to the contrary, these policies reinforce the attitude that people facing food insecurity can’t be trusted, and should depend on the wisdom and leadership of others.

This baseless concern about client volunteers is just one way that we project our biases and assumptions about hunger onto clients without any real basis in reality.  We are long overdue to abandon these assumptions about food insecurity.

As Americans, we’ve been conditioned to assume that people who use welfare or need food assistance are untrustworthy, unreliable, and make poor choices.

As a result, most elements of food pantry and emergency food assistance policy are based on this assumption- that we must protect these programs from abuse and corruption, instead of ensuring families have the food they need to thrive.  Turning away volunteers with lived experience deprives organizations of essential insights and perpetuates the stigma and discrimination that accompany hunger.


Having clients serve as volunteers can be uncomfortable because their presence and input requires us to check our biases and pay closer attention to the experience of being a food pantry client. Clients serving as volunteers gives food pantries an opportunity to learn their weaknesses and strive to do better, if we can foster the humility for this lesson.

But it’s also essential to make sure that we are not using these clients as our primary sounding board for educating on dignity. In the same misguided way that too many people called on their friends of color to educate them in racial justice issues in 2020, it’s important we do the work to research and learn the reality of hunger without exploiting our community.

As someone without lived experience of hunger, I try to provide services that I have never myself depended on.

As a result, it’s easy for me and my colleagues to fall victim to the assumptions and biases that abound surrounding food insecurity and food assistance.

This is why building spaces for those with lived experience to safely speak up is essential, and why it’s important to evaluate whether your organization is a safe space for that vulnerability.

If we can transform our anti-hunger institutions into centers of humility and compassion for continual growth, we can amplify our impact by moving beyond assumption to ensure we’re addressing the problems our neighbors face, and not the ones we think they do.

Major appreciation to Kern Herron for his input on the writing of this post.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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Building a Food Justice Career

My Mom wanted me to be a lawyer. I like to write, and she says I’m good at developing arguments… However, I always knew I was looking for something else. Following college, I was interested in sustainability, but wasn’t sure what a career might look like. Then I attended a sustainability networking event and upon hearing my story, a fellow attendee pointed out, “You grew up on a farm. You should do sustainable agriculture.” From there, it was a quick journey from nutrition and gardening education to building food access and alternative food systems.

Over the past several months, multiple people have reached out to me seeking wisdom and advice about entering the field of food justice. Working in nonprofits is hard, and anti-hunger opportunities can be few and far between as well as competitive. However, there is also lots of opportunity and energy in this area right now, and we certainly need all the most skilled, ambitious, and creative minds on the job.

This week I’m sharing my recommendations on embarking on a career in anti-hunger and food justice. In reality, though, this is all applicable to any field.  

  • Informational interviews. Asking someone to share career advice is daunting and intimidating, but this is my favorite method for learning what the work really looks like! At the start of my career, I did most of my networking via personal recommendation and word of mouth, but social media makes things significantly easier now. Identify professionals that you admire and reach out to see if they’re available for a quick conversation.

I like to ask how they ended up in their current role and the skills they think are necessary for success there. My favorite question to end on after explaining my own career trajectory is, “what would you do next if you were me?” I also ask for recommendations of other people to speak to, and if they can offer an introduction.

Informational interviews have helped me land several jobs because when opportunities arose, I was fresh on the mind of my acquaintance. Although scheduling in today’s hectic world can be exhausting, many people like giving interviews. It’s flattering and fun to offer guidance that leads someone towards success!

  • Volunteering. Although I recognize that having the time and capacity to volunteer is a significant privilege, you should lean into it if it’s an option. Sign up for a shift at your favorite nonprofit to learn how they operate, get to know their community, and maybe even anticipate their future needs. I’ve seen many nonprofits hire their best volunteers when they need more staff.
  • Education. I experience my best learning from reading physical books, but there is an abundance of online articles, webinars, podcasts, or documentaries to suit your learning style. Familiarize yourself with the discussions that are currently taking place in the field and who is hosting them. After a while, you’ll start to recognize trends and opportunities for further engagement. You might also discover new areas of interest for yourself!

The books I consider foundational for my own anti-hunger education (that I regularly revisit when I need inspiration) are: The Stop by Nick Saul, Big Hunger by Andrew Fisher, and Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries by Katie Martin. But there are many incredible options on hunger, food justice and sustainability that are worth exploring.

It is important to remember that you don’t have to be a food security expert to thrive in this field. We need people with strong writing skills, creative marketing expertise, thoughtful fundraising strategies, in-depth data analysis, and many others. Many organizations are excited to hire people with these hard skills and teach them their application in food justice. No one starts out as an expert, and we all know that it takes a large and diverse community to solve hunger and build food justice.

Finally, I have to call out the importance of seeking out a workplace that honors and supports you. Although we’re making great progress, there are still plenty of nonprofits out there who do not support their staff the way they deserve to be treated. It’s important to recognize this reality, and assess your tolerance level for this treatment (in a perfect world it should be zero, but I know plenty of people don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing their ideal employer). Pressuring anti-hunger organizations to treat their staff with dignity and respect is an essential step for achieving the same toward treatment towards clients.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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Can You Find Fun in the Kitchen When You’re Food Insecure?

One of my regular food pantry clients once came up to me the moment she walked in the door and shouted, “I LOVE BRUSSELS SPROUTS!”

She told me that she had never had them before but we had an abundance the last time she came to the pantry, so she decided to give them a try. It turned out she was a big fan; she had just never had the opportunity to taste them. Every time since, she would load up on these oft-maligned veggies.  

Our society is eager to condemn people experiencing hunger for eating unhealthy foods. With the prevalent assumption that people experience hunger because of poor judgement, it’s easy to assume that this applies to their food choices as well. This motivates many anti-hunger programs to focus on making decisions for people experiencing food insecurity, like what foods they should and shouldn’t have access to.

We see this attitude perpetuated in regular proposals to increase restrictions on foods purchased with SNAP dollars, in a misguided attempt to force people to eat healthier. SNAP is already inadequate, so this restriction reduces available options without addressing any of the limitations that already exist, like high costs of healthy foods.

The reality is, the only way we can empower people to eat better quality food and to try new things is to give them the capacity to experiment and take risks. (On another day we will also examine the need for time to cook, which means not having to work three jobs; and having a functional kitchen, which means safe and affordable housing.)

We can fight hunger by giving everyone room in their food budget for failure.

Even the most accomplished cooks occasionally make meals that aren’t winners, and every parent knows that their kids will sometimes refuse even the most perfectly prepared meal.

There is security in buying the foods that you know your family enjoys. With a too-tight food budget, it is an unnecessary risk to buy something that your family might not eat. When money is short, it can’t be wasted.

The client who loved Brussels sprouts had four hungry teenagers at home, so she had to maximize her food budget to ensure everyone had enough to eat. Why would she risk spending money on Brussels sprouts that those kids might refuse, or that she might not like, when she already was struggling to keep everyone fed?

But offering Brussels sprouts at the food pantry gave her room to take risks. There were no trade-offs if her family didn’t want to eat them- only a lesson learned.

If we really want to empower people experiencing food insecurity to eat healthier and try new foods, then we need to facilitate the conditions that allow risk-taking.

Children, and people of all ages, often need several exposures to a new food before they start to like it. That requires the capacity to serve it, and have it rejected multiple times before it is accepted. For someone who struggles to afford every bite, this is a nearly impossible risk.

Although food pantries are an inadequate response to hunger, this is one area where they offer opportunity. When clients are empowered to shop for themselves with as few restrictions as possible, there’s room to try something new. There’s no risk if their child refuses to eat the new vegetable, or it turns out the whole family hates that flavor of sauce. They can experiment with tofu just to say they tried it and see for themselves whether Brussels sprouts really deserve their reputation.

While health should absolutely be a priority in anti-hunger work, it’s important that we not lose sight of all the nuances that go into creating an environment where people can eat what’s right for their bodies, and not just what fits within their budget.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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Are You Gatekeeping While You Fight for Food Justice?

As a resident of Portland, Oregon, my city is famously mocked for once buying up all the kale in the face of an approaching snowstorm.

Kale is a popular superfood. It’s a power-packed leafy green that is versatile in salads, smoothies, soups, and more. I confess I’m a fan and regular consumer.

But at a food pantry just outside of Portland, we used to receive regular donations of kale while almost always struggling to give it away. Our clients just didn’t seem interested.

This week I finished reading How the Other Half Eats by Dr. Priya Fielding-Singh, who at one point examines kale’s cultural context. She observes that “…kale is generally marketed toward and endorsed by upper middle class, primarily white people. Because of that, while kale may be healthy, it is seen as a wealthy white person’s food, making its appeal culturally limited and its glorification culturally alienating” (123).

America aggressively condemns SNAP recipients for buying expensive food like organic produce. Theoretical examples of welfare fraud almost always reference lobster. Promotions for building food security depend heavily on learning to cook dry beans. It’s been made very clear that people living in poverty aren’t supposed to eat the same foods as rich people.

In a food pantry, where every food choice is often judged and scrutinized, it makes complete sense that clients shy away from a food we have all been taught to see as part of a rich person’s diet.

Because every food has a cultural context, it’s essential that we explore intangible barriers like this to see how our attitudes influence the landscape around us.

Kale Versus Collard Greens

Kale and collard greens are closely related, with almost identical nutritional profiles. Yet their place in foodie culture heavily impacts which one people eat, depending on their background.

Despite their similarities, kale is lauded as a powerhouse superfood while collard greens are judged for their place in soul food, southern-influenced cooking identified with Black America which is stereotyped as much less healthy.

The stereotypes and assumptions we carry about foods like kale and collards build barriers just as significant as any challenge of cost or access.

There is no “right” way to eat. Every culture has a culinary tradition on which people have thrived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Our cultural obsession with identifying “right” and “wrong” foods fails us and the communities we come from.

Building food justice means ensuring that everyone has access to the foods that they want to eat and are not constrained by the ideas of what society has established their identity should eat.

How Do We Practice Embracing All Food Choices?

  • Find out what food pantry clients want to eat. What are the dominant cultures shopping at your pantry, and what are their essential foods? It’s also important to examine why your organization does not offer them already (if that’s the case). Were they evaluated in comparison to other foods in making this decision? While these foods may be more expensive or harder to find, their absence likely reinforces existing biases about what foods are good or appropriate for shoppers.
  • Recognize and call out bias. I often witness volunteers celebrating certain kinds of donations, like cheese or expensive options which are familiar to them, while donations of lemongrass and lamb are ignored. Evaluating foods as we see them makes it very clear which foods are valued and celebrated, and what are not. Finding ways to celebrate all foods can help stop reinforcing attitudes within the organization, and grow your teams’ understanding of food justice.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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Are You Really Fighting Hunger if Your Staff Can’t Afford Food?

At the very first food pantry I ever worked at, our parent organization (one of the biggest nonprofits in the region) was enthusiastic and vocal about prioritizing the client experience. I was excited to partner on this mission, until I learned that this focus on client services was achieved at the expense of staff. Our leaders were adamant that the organization could only afford the most minimal wages and benefits to ensure maximum support for our clients. Because I could not afford groceries on this wage, I became a client at my own food pantry.

Although this happened over a decade ago, it is a pattern I have seen repeated at every food pantry I’ve worked with since. Full-time staff members unable to support themselves or their family on their wages become clients of their own services, which the organization provides without a second thought.

Can you really be an anti-hunger advocate if you’re not willing to make sacrifices for the mission? This attitude is pervasive, and perpetuates a culture that actively inhibits people from thriving while doing this work.

Why is food insecurity accepted within anti-hunger organizations?

American society has narrow attitudes about nonprofits. The belief persists that nonprofit employees should do the work out of the goodness of their hearts rather than for the money.

I once had a Board member brag that our organization paid staff in “heart” to make up for low wages, as if that was an achievement to be celebrated that employees would appreciate.

Paying individuals less than a living wage is a primary cause of food insecurity.

Whether or not money is a motivating factor for nonprofit professionals, it does not mean that we are somehow exempt from paying rent, buying gasoline, or the rising cost of groceries.

When organizations advocating for food justice perpetuate food insecurity, it should throw serious doubt on their commitment. Denying employees the resources to buy their own food while employed at an anti-hunger institution demonstrates a perversely performative interest in fighting hunger.

While every organization benefits from leadership who knows what it’s like to be food insecure, we should not tolerate those that force lived experience upon their employees.

Food banks and pantries who recognize hunger as a systemic problem rather than an individual responsibility are slowly beginning to demonstrate it by working towards institutionalizing living wages.

This is not a simple or easy change. Nonprofit culture uplifts and celebrates low overhead costs and strong client services, an attitude deeply internalized by funders. My previous food pantry regularly received donations specifically allocated for food to ensure that it was spent on clients rather than staff. But this is short-sighted. Who do donors anticipate will do the work if no one should be paid?

Most nonprofits already lean heavily on volunteers, and have paid staff for the jobs that require additional expertise, reliability, or confidentiality. The nonprofit field is one place where these professional individuals are regularly degraded for seeking a comfortable wage that appreciates their skills.

Developing effective solutions to social ills requires that we have the most creative, passionate, and enthusiastic people working on the problem. But the nonprofit field as it currently exists offers weak incentives for attracting or retaining these individuals.

Ending hunger is a complicated and multi-faceted challenge. Amidst the complexity, it’s easy to ignore how we treat the people doing the work. Paying anti-hunger advocates a living wage requires changing priorities, educating funders, and adjusting budgets. But the long-term implications are higher retention rates, improved productivity, stronger competition, and one less client waiting in line at the food pantry.

Next steps:

Check out some resources for starting these conversations from the Next Shift, a campaign encouraging anti-hunger organizations to examine internal processes and attitudes about social justice parallel to their external goals.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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The Problem is Never Just Hunger

“I just need food- I didn’t know I had to fill out any paperwork!” This woman’s vehement opposition to completing our food pantry’s new client intake form took me by surprise, which increased as she abruptly strode off with tears running down her face. I’d never had this happen before.

I followed her into the parking lot, and after some hesitant discussion, it became clear that she was a survivor of domestic violence. This woman was terrified at the prospect of any documentation that might enable her ex to find her. Respecting that fear, we did not record her visit, and ensured that she and her two children got the food they needed to survive a couple more days.

Nearly three years ago, this incident remains lodged in my memory as an early catalyst for my food pantry’s transition to practicing trauma-informed care, with the recognition that no one comes to our organization facing hunger as their only challenge.

Hunger was only one obstacle among many for this woman as she struggled to access the resources she needed while keeping her family safe.  Even though our mission is to meet the nutritional needs of our community, it is essential that anti-hunger organizations always recognize our visitors carry many other burdens when they walk through our doors, whether they share them with us or not.

This is why it is so important for every food justice advocate to deliberately plan, script, and implement strategies that focus on compassion and respect, and not just food access. This can help transform the process of seeking emergency food assistance from one of panic and humiliation to one of dignity and empowerment.

Every day, our food pantry welcomes people who are houseless, who have recently arrived from nations ripped apart by war, are facing imminent financial emergencies, or are experiencing a mental health crisis. Food pantry clients are never just facing food insecurity, but there is ample opportunity for us to provide support beyond just food.

Here’s how food pantries can build environments that support all their shoppers and the backgrounds they bring:

  • Trauma-informed training for staff, leadership, and volunteers. Recognizing and respecting the trauma that people carry helps us develop systems to support them. Foster systems that accommodate those needs, such as ignoring the administrative responsibilities for the woman escaping a violent ex or packing a personalized food box for an individual who is overstimulated by the crowd and long line.
  • De-escalation training. We serve clients who arrive stressed and emotionally charged every day, and it requires tact and sensitivity to help them find stability. For example, we occasionally encounter clients who haven’t eaten for several days. Finding them a snack and a bottle of water before they shop is often the most effective way to set them up for success shopping in the pantry.
  • Focus on an attitude of abundance. Even if food supplies are running low, a sense of abundance helps shoppers feel more food secure and supported. When our food pantry line grows especially long, people worry that we won’t have enough food for everyone. Reassuring them helps quell anxieties before they even get inside.
  • Wrap-around services. Although we don’t provide additional programming, we network with health clinics, organizations that deliver food, free clothing, and housing assistance so we can direct clients in the right direction. We partner with several nursing-student programs who have provided us with meal planning projects, recipe development, and other resources. This semester our students have developed information on wound care to share with our clients who are living outside. Although we rarely have exactly the resources our shoppers need, being able to point them in the right direction can save them from the overwhelming fear of solving these challenges alone.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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