Addressing the Unique Needs of Local Food Banks

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Food banks, community pantries and soup kitchens are an important source of nutritional foods for many low-income individuals and families. Their resources may be in even greater demand during a public health crisis if grocery stores are unable to keep shelves stocked or individuals are unable to buy or afford food. The extent to which local food banks, community pantries and soup kitchens are prepared for emergencies may determine whether or not community residents have access to food.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) conducted in-depth interviews with charitable domestic hunger-relief organizations across the nation and found that regional food distribution centers are well-prepared for a public health emergency. These centers have invested a significant amount of time and resources into preparing for disaster responsiveness and work closely with local, state and national agencies, such as America’s Second Harvest, the American Red Cross and the United Way. However, local food banks, which provide direct assistance to community residents, are less prepared for a public health crisis. Few have disaster response plans in place and few are connected to local, state or national disaster response efforts.

Local food banks, community pantries and soup kitchens can take steps to ensure a continued supply of food during an emergency. Managers can assess their emergency response readiness by answering questions such as if their facility is able to withstand extreme weather conditions; is the structure sound and protected against water infiltration; and could a second location be operated if the building were damaged or totally destroyed. Managers should also take additional steps, such as developing relationships with local grocery stores to increase food donations during a crisis and placing themselves on the priority lists of utility companies to restore power in case of an outage.

In this Issue

  • NPHW Kick-Off Roundtable Webcast
  • What’s Happening Today
  • NPHW in the News
  • Take Action Today!
  • NPHW Blog Series
  • Resources

National Public Health Week Kick-off Roundtable

Kaisernetwork.org webcast the APHA preparedness roundtable that opened National Public Health Week 2007. The webcast is available at kaisernetwork.org.

What’s Happening Today
  • Public Health Workforce Strategies with PrepareIowa.com-Practical Tools for You, Ames, Iowa
  • Solano County Health Officer Community Forum, Vacaville, Calif.
  • Take the First Step Awareness Campaign, Hampton, Va.
  • Roundtable Luncheon on Pandemic Flu, Englewood, N.J.
  • Food Bank Services During Emergencies, New Haven, Ct.
  • Addressing the Unique Needs of Local Food Banks in Time of Disaster, Chicago, Ill.

Other events may be accessed at www.apha.org/nphw/calendar. There is also a list of government agencies, health organizations, resources for teachers and other tools.

National Public Health Week in the News

TUESDAY: Ensuring the Services of Local Food Banks
Support S.211/H.R.211, Senator Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) and Representative Anna Eshoo’s (D-CA) “Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2007”, which facilitates nationwide availability of 2-1-1 telephone service to provide information and referral of human services, including food shelters and clothing banks, and volunteer services.  Click here to contact Congress:

The following is a list of legislative policies, programs and initiatives that correspond with APHA’s National Public Health Week campaign to address the issue of preparedness for public health threats and emergencies.  Click on the links below to contact your elected officials in support of these bills and programs. 

Policy Asks to Improve Overall Preparedness:

  1. Invest in the public health infrastructure.  Fully fund comprehensive public health programs and infrastructure, which ensure access to basic primary health services for millions of Americans on both a day-to-day and emergency basis - addressing the diverse needs of urban, rural and underserved areas; and training health care personnel to provide needed services.   Click here to contact Congress.


  2. Develop Trauma Care Planning Systems for States and Localities.   Support H.R. 727, Rep. Gene Green’s (D-TX) ‘‘Trauma Care Systems Planning and Development Act’’, which directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop systems of care through sharing information among agencies and individuals involved in the study and provision of trauma care; and provide to State and local agencies technical assistance to develop, implement, and sustain emergency medical services.  Click here to contact Congress.

  3. Help first-responders communicate with one another.  Support S.385, Senator Inouye’s (D-HI) “Interoperable Emergency Communications Act”, which provides the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with guidance as it awards $1 billion in interoperable emergency communications grants to police, firemen, and emergency medical personnel.  This bill would establish technology reserves to assist emergency response agencies in pre-positioning communications equipment in states or regional facilities. These reserves can be activated quickly in the event of a major emergency or natural disaster. Click here to contact Congress.

National Public Health Week Blog Series

In conjunction with APHA's Get Ready for Flu Campaign (link to www.getreadyforflu.org) we will be featuring daily entries related to the daily themes and focuses of National Public Health Week on our Get Ready for Flu blog.  Click here to read today's! 

Click here to sign up to receive Get Ready for Flu blog entries delivered right to your e-mail inbox.

NPHW Resources

Organizations:

APHA would especially like to thank our financial supporters who helped make this week possible.