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Safe and Healthy Pantry Toolkit
Safe and Healthy Pantry Toolkit
Learn more about what your food pantry can do to promote food safety.
As more Wisconsinites turn to food pantries to meet their food needs, it is more important than ever that food pantries consider their role in supporting the health and well being of clients.
The Safe & Healthy Food Pantries Project was developed to provide food pantries with guidance on how to improve the nutritional quality and safety of their food inventories.
The full project guide offers food pantries with the opportunity to learn the latest research, assess their current practices, review strategies, and develop an action plan to improve the nutrition and safety of the foods they provide to families.
Then, follow the 5-Step process below.
5-Step Process for Safe and Healthy Food Pantries
Assess Your Food Pantry’s Food Safety
Your pantry’s decision to focus on safe and healthy food pantry practices is an important first step. Assessing pantry practices ensures that the strategies your pantry implements are reasonable and appropriate for the pantry and will have the most impact for food pantry clients.
Evaluate Your Food Pantry’s Food Safety
Focusing on strategies to enhance food safety and nutrition in your pantry is a valuable next step. Step 2 offers practical approaches to create a pantry environment that promotes safe, healthy choices for guests, ensuring your efforts make a meaningful impact on their well-being.
Develop Your Food Safety Action Plan
Use the results of your self-assessment to set goals and prioritize strategies your pantry can take to improve the nutritional quality and safety of the foods offered at the food pantry.
Implement Your Program
This section provides essential resources to help you effectively implement the Safe & Healthy Food Pantries Project. These tools guide you in assessing pantry practices, boosting nutrition and food safety, and creating a tailored action plan that supports lasting improvements. These materials are designed to make implementation smoother and more impactful for your pantry and the community it serves.
Evaluate Your Program
Evaluation is essential for tracking progress and measuring impact. Step 5 provides tools to assess your pantry’s success, from guest interviews and self-assessments to record-keeping and post-training evaluations. These resources support ongoing improvement and ensure your efforts lead to safe, nutritious offerings for the community.
More Resources
Access additional tools like the Food Drive 5 Toolkit, Feeding America’s F2E framework, and training resources from the University of California’s Nutrition Policy Institute. Plus, find guidance for supporting college students experiencing food insecurity.
Join our online community to share where you’re from, how you’re using the Safe and Healthy Food Pantries Project, and insights on local initiatives.
The food pantry can support clients in making the healthy choice the easy choice. Learn more about what your pantry can do to give your food pantry a healthy boost.
Thanks for your interest in our work. We grant permission to use and adapt our work within the scope of fair use provided appropriate acknowledgement* is given. Permission must be granted by the authors for other uses.
* Canto, A., B. Ingham, S. Larson, J Park-Mroch, & J. Gauley. (2018). Safe & Healthy Food Pantries Project. Madison: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension.
