Great Plains Food Bank : Our Partners : Partner Agency Resource Center

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CLICK HERE for a list of Funding Opportunities

COVID-19 UPDATES

VIRTUAL GATHERING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25th from 10:00 - 11:15 AM! We will have special guest, CEO Steve Sellent, joining us for a conversation on what the future of food streams are going to look like through our food bank network. Steve has spent countless hour learning about trends and consulting with experts at Feeding America about how we are going to start seeing shifts in our food streams and what this will mean for all of us. We will record the conversation for a later date if you are unable to attend.

Join from the meeting link: https://greatplainsfoodbank.webex.com/greatplainsfoodbank/j.php?MTID=m84815aa2de3c7aaf8e7cf25b33152de7
Join by meeting number
- Meeting number (access code): 187 426 8358
- Meeting password: mxE4ZfPF7c5
Tap to join from a mobile device (attendees only): +1-408-418-9388,,1874268358## United States Toll
Join by phone:
- +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
- Global call-in numbers
Join from a video system or application:
- Dial 1874268358@greatplainsfoodbank.webex.com
- You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number.
Join using Microsoft Lync or Microsoft Skype for Business: Dial 1874268358.greatplainsfoodbank@lync.webex.com

ANNUAL AGREEMENTS: Complete, sign and return ALL applicable agreements by January 30th. Agreements can be mailed to 1720 3rd Ave. N Fargo, ND or scanned to your Regional Services Manager.

Partnership: Renews your partnership with the GPFB for 2021. Click HERE.
Retail Food Rescue: Partners picking up at a local retail store(s) will need to complete an agreement. Click HERE.
NEW this year, partners receiving retail food rescue items from a GPFB truck will also need to sign the addendum in the partnership agreement.
A $50 annual partnership fee will be invoiced to your account after January 1.

AFFILIATION LETTER: NEW this year, partners who have a separate fiscal and legal sponsor will be required to provide an affiliation letter by January 30, 2021 that will then be updated every other year after. This will also meet the requirement for partners participating in TEFAP. Click HERE for a template.

UPDATED PARTNER HANDBOOK: Click HERE for PDF. Partners are HIGHLY encouraged to read through an updated GPFB food assistance partner handbook in its entirety as many new resources and best practices have been added. Paper copies will be available by request.

ORDER AND DELIVERY CALENDAR: As of January 1 all ‘areas’ will be delivered to on the same week each month. Adjustments may be made for holidays, weather, inventory schedules, or the size of the orders. This is a change that many partners have asked about and we are excited to put it into motion to bring some increased consistency to our operations. View the calendar HERE.

MN PREVENTION OF WASTED FOOD AND FOOD RESCUE GRANTS: For MINNESOTA partners only. These grants provide financial assistance to programs that help prevent food from being wasted and/or promote food rescue (food-to-people). Composting and food-to-animal programs are not eligible for this grant funding. Request for proposals due March, 19, 2021 at 4:00 PM. Link to more information and application HERE.

MN HUNGER DAY ON THE HILL: For MINNESOTA partners. Let's put ending hunger in Minnesota at the top of the Legislature's to do list! 2 day event includes: March 1 - Program to prepare and practice speaking on key issues & March 1-2 - Visit with your legislators (virtual meetings will be set up for you). We look forward to advocating together for sound public policy on hunger issues. Zoom information will be sent prior to the event. Click HERE to learn more about Hunger Day on the Hill and to register.

MN P-EBT UPDATE: For partners serving MN residents. Click HERE for update information. Students are eligible for the program if they are on SNAP, MFIP, or Tribal TANF or if they are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals. For some families, P-EBT could mean thousands of dollars in grocery money, which is a critical help when so many families are struggling. Can you help spread the word about the new round of P-EBT to the families you serve? We teamed up with Second Harvest Heartland to create some materials to make it easy to share. These materials (along with the materials from DHS) are all available in a Google Drive folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11peq0GCOtN6FpGsaGD2PJZY6aioLsCP9?usp=sharing Time is of the essence in getting the word out to families. Those students enrolled in free and reduced-price meals BEFORE Feb. 28 should get their first P-EBT benefits by late March. Those enrolled March 1 or later will get benefits later.

VIRTUAL COOKING CLASS AVAILABLE: Family Wellness of Fargo is offering a virtual, FREE cooking class! Partners can promote this class to their clients or hang a flyer at their site. The virtual platform allows this class to be available statewide. There is a gift card incentive for participating and all of the groceries will be provided. Encourage clients to sign up early and they will be contacted to coordinate the details. View the flyer HERE.

Join us for a virtual Partner Summit on November 9th, 2020! Thank you to those who joined us! View the recording HERE! Password: AvTy5j5q

SCHEDULE

Holiday Schedule - GPFB offices and warehouses closed and GPFB retail rescue routes cancelled on scheduled holidays.
January - NEW Delivery Calendar Starts!
January 1 - GPFB Closed
January 18 - GPFB Closed
April 2 - GPFB Closed
May 31 - GPFB Closed
July 5 - GPFB Closed
September 6 - GPFB Closed
November 25 & 26 - GPFB Closed
December 24 & 27 - GPFB Closed

PARTNERSHIP INFORMATION

2021 Order and Delivery Calendar

GPFB Contact Into

Primarius Web Window (PWW)

ORDERING
- Order Mistakes: email or call John Stone, Inventory Manager at jstone@greatplainsfoodbank.org / 701-476-9124 noting the product number and quantity of items needed or missed.
- Second Orders will now be placed in PWW. Only 1 second order will be accepted and it must be entered by the end of your order timeframe.
- Cass/Clay Partners who PICK UP – the time and date you select when placing your order is when you will be scheduled for pick up. At your scheduled date and time, please come into the volunteer entrance of the warehouse and ring the doorbell. Someone will come and assist you.
- Cass/Clay Partners who get DELIVERY will be on a consistent monthly schedule. If you are unsure of your monthly delivery time, please email or call Anna.
STATISTICS
- NEW for 2020! Voucher Reporting - To better capture the great work our partners are doing community by community, we are asking you to report on voucher programs in partnership with local grocery stores. Currently these innovative partnerships to connect families with fresh and perishable food is not being captured, and we feel it is important information in sharing the story of how together we are ending hunger. When reporting your monthly statistics, there is a line at the very bottom for reporting the dollar amount given in vouchers that month. We do not need information about who your partnership is with or what product the vouchers are for with this reporting, though we would love to hear about it to share with our network. Interested in learning more about voucher programs community partners have established with their local grocery store? Contact your Regional Services Manager to learn more!
RETAIL RESCUE RECEIPTS
- Preferred weekly
- Receipts should be entered by the last work day of the month
BILLING
- Under My Docs Tab
- As of February 2020, we have gone paperless! Statements will no longer be mailed out monthly.
- Balances and unpaid invoices can be found in the My Agency tab in the upper right corner of PWW. Then click on Open AR.
Click HERE for PWW directions.

Recalled Item Log

CLICK HERE TO VIEW
View recalls and sign up to receive email updates through the USDA HERE.
FDA hand sanitizer recall list and updates HERE

Resources

Marketing and Communications

501(c)(3) Information

Client Access

Food Safety

Food Safety Certification

Meal Programs - Link to Serv Safe Food Manager Course & Exam
Food Pantries - Food Handler for Food Banking Activities and Quiz

Client Resources

SNAP Flyer
Social Security - Despite challenges government and businesses face at this time, we want people to know we remain ready and able to help them by phone with most Social Security matters. Your clients can speak with a representative by calling their local Social Security office or our National Number. We also provide local office phone numbers conveniently online with our Social Security Office Locator. Attached is a flyer/poster that you can customize with the local office number. Although our offices are not providing service for walk-in visitors, we may be able to schedule an appointment for limited, critical issues if we cannot help someone by phone and if they cannot get the information they need or conduct their business online. Please encourage your clients to call or take advantage of our secure and convenient online services to: Apply for Retirement, Disability, and Medicare benefits, Check the status of an application or appeal, Request a replacement Social Security card (in most areas), Print a benefit verification letter, and more.
WIC - open to working and non-working families, including those who are recently unemployed. Participants in programs like Medicaid, TANF or SNAP are automatically income eligible. Families may qualify for WIC by meeting the income guidelines for the household. Individuals who are pregnant, have a new baby or children under age 5 might also be eligible for WIC.
- WIC Information - ND
- WIC Information - MN

Partner Enabled Retail Food Rescue Pick Ups

ND TEFAP

2020-2021 income guidelines
Civil Rights training - individual
Civil Rights Training - group certification
USDA Non-Discrimination Statement - should be on all printed materials

MN TEFAP

Hunger Solutions Minnesota partners with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Minnesota Department of Human Services-Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), food banks and food pantries to administer Minnesota’s TEFAP program.

Click here to find resources and forms.