Retail Store Donation Program

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Retail Store Donation Program

• Food Rescue
• Dont Throw Away Your Chance To Help

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The Benefits of Donating

• High quality food is incorporated into our food
  system.
• Food waste is reduced.
• Local stores are able to increase donations to
  the food system without traditional corporate
  restrictions.

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What is Food Rescue?

• Second Harvest Heartland links partner agencies
  with their local stores to reclaim valuable
  perishable products that are set aside for
  donation. The partnership is called Food Rescue
  and represents one growing source of food for SHH
  and its partner agencies.

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What Stores Participate?
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Guidelines

• Based on agreements with corporate donors to
  receive this product we must handle it in the
  fashion requested by the donor .
• As we work with stores, requirements may change.

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For Local Agencies

• Please have at least one person in your pantry
  familiar with the SHH standards when you receive
  an order.
• Refer to use by and sell by charts to rotate
  product accurately.
• Inspect product upon receiving and during
  distribution to ensure quality control.
• Give information about SHH products to food
  recipients.
• If you are unable to handle a certain type of
  product due to capacity limitations please share
  that with SHH.

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Safety is 1 Priority

• Frozen Products should be inspected to make sure
  the package is intact, completely frozen and not
  abnormally discolored.
• Dairy Products should be inspected for Sell by
  and Use by dates, as well as package integrity.
• Passive or Active Temperature Controlled Devices
  should always be used during transport of product
  back to pantry.
• Temperature logs must be maintained on all frozen
  or refrigerated product.

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Open Dating

• Pull or Sell By These dates tell stores how
  long to display the product for sale.
• Best if used by The last date that is
  recommended for the best flavor or quality. It
  does not mean that the food will be unsafe after
  that date.
• Use by or Quality Assurance The final dates
  recommended for consumption of the food for peak
  quality
• Pack Date The date the food- fresh meat, for
  example- was packed or processed. A pack date
  isnt an indicator of safety.
• Expiration This indicates, for most foods,
  the last date on which they should be eaten.
  Eggs are an exception If you buy federally
  graded eggs before the expiration date (which
  must be no more than 30 days from when they were
  put in a carton), you should be able to use them
  safely for the next 3-5 weeks.

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The Donation Process

• How to Introduce Your Agency to Your Local Store

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Advance Preparation

• Read the donation standards and guidelines before
  scheduling a meeting with the store manager.
• Be prepared to answer questions from store
  managers
• Print out your agencys contact information to
  give to store manager
• Decide on what your collection days will be.
• Clarify any questions before meeting with
  department managers.

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Meet with Your Store Manager

• Your initial meeting will be one of the most
  important aspects of your new partnership!
• Schedule meetings with department mangers in
  affected departments and invite a representative
  from the food bank when possible.
• Provide a background of your agency use your
  food bank representative to review talking points
  when possible.
• Be prepared to describe your agencies
  expectations of where product is going to be
  stored and what you expect to receive from the
  store.
• Be prepared to field questions. Also be prepared
  to answer questions regarding what products you
  will accept and what days you will be collecting
  from the store.
• Bring food pantry signs to the meeting to
  distribute to the store manager- this will ensure
  that the store creates specific areas for your
  donations to be placed (recommend at least one
  area in the cooler and one in the freezer).
• Thank your store manager for participating in the
  donation program.

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Please Be Sure To Do The Following As The
Donation Program Unfolds

• Monitor the process in the departments to be sure
  that appropriate signage is up and products are
  handled according to handling guidelines.
• Monitor storage areas to ascertain if the
  schedule for food bank pickups is working.
• Monitor pickup for verification of recipient and
  to ensure that appropriate temperature-controlled
  devices are used for transportation.
• Notify food bank point person if any problems
  arise.

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Guidelines for Your Store

• Meat Department
• Dairy and Deli Department
• Produce Department
• Bakery

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Meat Poultry, Fish and Deli Meats

• These meats must all be in original packaging
  (repacking large packages of deli meat, hot
  dogs, family packs of chicken, etc. is not
  allowed).
• Frozen product must be kept frozen at 0 or below.
  Product must be distributed from freezer unit and
  should not be placed in cooler or other unit at
  time of distribution for easier access.
• If you receive meats pulled that are not frozen,
  they MUST be frozen for 24 hours before given
  out to clients.
• If product develops deep freezer burn it cannot
  be distributed and must be discarded. If problems
  with freezer burn are ongoing, freezer
  maintenance or food rotation systems may need to
  be reviewed.

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Meat Department Instructions

• Removing Product for Donation
• Create a permanent location in the walk-in
  freezer that is at least 6 inches above the
  floor.
• Place a sign on the wall above the location that
  reads This Space Reserved for Donation Product
  Only.
• Pull and freeze donated product by midnight of
  sell-by date.
• Retain donated product in the original packaging
  with all date labels intact.
• Verify that packages are securely closed to
  prevent cross contamination.
• Place donated product in clean cardboard boxes
  for storage. Do not use USDA boxes.
• Store only LIKE products in the same box (beef
  with beef,
• poultry with poultry) to avoid contamination.

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Deli and Dairy

• Must be stored in refrigeration below 40 degrees
  or frozen at 0 degrees or less.
• Bulk dairy cannot be repacked and must be kept in
  original containers.
• Fluid milk must be monitored for constant shelf
  life.
• IMPORTANT FIFO (First in/First out) rotations
  will reduce risk of loss of product

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Deli and Dairy Department Instructions

• Pull and refrigerate donated product by midnight
  of sell-by or expiration date.
• Retain donated product in the original packaging
  with all date labels intact.
• Verify that packages are securely closed to
  prevent cross contamination.
• Clearly mark boxes for agency.

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Fresh Produce

• Product can be stored in cool dry location, out
  of direct sunlight. Produce more appropriate for
  a cooler needs to be stored there. Please inspect
  product before distribution.
• Processed produce must be in original food grade
  containers .
• (ie- pre-made salads)

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Produce Instructions

• Create a permanent location in the produce
  department that is at least 6 inches above the
  floor.
• Place a sign on the wall above the location that
  reads This Space Reserved for Donation Product
  Only.
• Pull and store in a cool, dry, clean area when
  product no longer meets merchandising standards.
  (Note donated product must still be suitable
  for human consumption.)
• Retain donated product in the original packaging
  with all date labels intact.
• Verify that packages are securely closed to
  prevent cross contamination.
• Clearly mark product for food pantry.

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Bakery and Canned Goods

• Please use routine food safety handling on these
  items.

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REPORTING YOUR POUNDS

• It is imperative that your agency properly record
  and submit your poundage each month to Second
  Harvest Heartland.
• Failure to accurately and timely report may
  result in discontinuation of your collections.
• Report your pounds via Agency Zone
  (http//agencies.2harvest.org/statistics). There
  is also an instructional sheet on Agency Zone
  under Retail Store Pickup.

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Contact Information

• Food Rescue Manager Kate Mudge
• kmudge_at_2harvest.org
• 651-209-7921
• 651-387-1606 (cell phone)
• Food Rescue Coordinator Paul Jacobs
• pjacobs_at_2harvest.org
• 651-209-7914
• 651-263-8525 (cell phone)

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Thank You!